


Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs

by ClillaryHinton



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2019-12-07 17:07:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18237800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClillaryHinton/pseuds/ClillaryHinton
Summary: The Bellas are asked to perform at Pride and Bechloe has to deal with feelings brought to the surface and what happens after.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Got the flu and binged all the PP:s a few weeks back and this happened. Lesbihonest, it got away from me a little, it was supposed to be a one-off. Never written Bechloe before, so I'm sure similar themes have been done loads of times, hopefully you can still be down for some fluffy smut! :)  
> It has canon elements from all movies, but doesn't stick strictly to canon: no Chicago, for instance. For the purpose of this story, I've assumed they intend for Chloe to be a natural redhead.  
> Set after PP2 and ends roughly a year after PP3.  
> M so I won't forget to change it later, but the first chap is probably T-rated. The other chapters will definitely be M.  
> ClillaryHinton1 on Twitter if you want to come talk nerdy to me.

"Pride? Like the main event?"

Chloe looked at Cynthia-Rose with a mixture of curiosity and delight.

"Yup. My ex is the new Pride event-coordinator and they've had an opening in the schedule. She asked if we could do her a solid."

"LeeAnne?"

"No, another ex."

"Why do I get the feeling that you were kind of a player?"

Cynthia-Rose cocked an eyebrow at Chloe's question.

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell. I'm a one girl woman now."

Beca had no idea how Chloe remembered all of Cynthia-Rose's ex-girlfriends. But that was Chloe for you. She loved people.

"Anyway, since we're champions and yours truly fits the bill of honoring female lbtqia performers, the Bellas are invited. We're obviously going to have to add a touch of rainbow color to the show but shouldn't be too hard. Nice big audience, should be pretty into it too."

It wasn't like anything the Bellas had done before. But Beca was woman enough to admit that she dreaded leaving this life that she hadn't wanted, and these people she hadn't wanted to be friends with in the first place. She glanced at Chloe. Some of them, she didn't even know how she would live without. She would jump at the opportunity for one last performance with these awesome nerds.

"We could do, like, a love duet!"

Emily was puppy dog excited, as usual.

"That could work. Double solo. Something sexy."

Naturally, that's where Stacie would go.

"Beca?"

She looked up and saw Chloe smiling at her. She didn't really have time to put anything together from scratch, but she would have to make time. She couldn't take away Cynthia-Rose's moment. Or Chloe's either, judging by how her eyes glittered and color rose in her cheeks. Beca could feel her excitement like a tangible thing between them in the room. Chloe would do anything for a last moment in the sun with the Bellas, Beca knew that.

"Sure… Fine, I'll get on it. Cynthia-Rose, who do you want to sing with? I'm not sure the audience would survive the sheer power of Amy and you..."

Amy shook her head.

"I have zero lesbo credibility. I love me a good solo, or duet or whatever. But unfortunately, I ooze heterosexual charisma."

"Stacie?"

Cynthia-Rose shook her head.

"Nu-uh. I'm getting hitched soon, my lady don't need to see me serenade some hot white chick on stage in front of thousands of people. Will not go down well."

Amy nodded sagely.

"Bloe, then."

"Bloe?"

Beca snapped her head up from staring at the computer screen.

Emily beamed at them.

"I thought you guys were dating when I first joined the Bellas, you're going to be great!"

"Aww."

Chloe bent down and gave Beca a sideways squeeze and kissed her temple. For her part, she sat there, frozen. It's not the first time someone's said it, but that didn't mean it didn't stress her out. She was obviously doing something wrong if people assume her best friend is her girlfriend. Nobody ever thought she was dating Stacie or Cynthia-Rose.

"Chloe and I can't solo at a lbtqia-tribute? This is supposed to be your moment?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't solo, just saying I won't be singing no love duets with hot chicks that aren't my future wife."

Chloe nodded, like that made perfect sense.

"Because of the whole ex-player thing?"

"Something like that, yeah. Don't need her to rethink the marriage."

Beca still just sat there with her mouth open. How did this happen? How did she and Chloe become the main event at a Pride festival?

”But...Chloe and I… We’re not lbtqia performers?”

”Again: didn’t say I wouldn’t solo, just that I’m not singing love duets. What are you so freaked out about anyway? Nobody’s expecting you to make out on stage.”

Cynthia-Rose raised her eyebrows.

”Wouldn’t have pegged you for the ’gay panic’ type, captain.”

”I do not have ’gay panic’, oh my god.”

Stacie looked up.

” _Fuck or kill_?”

”What?”

”Peaches. We could do _Fuck or kill_ , that has a great Pride message?”

Beca groaned. When it’s about embarrassing her, Stacie suddenly develops a taste for subversive electronica?

”Hmm. Maybe too on-the-nose?”

Chloe sounded like she was asking a genuine question. Beca felt herself blush, to her horror.

” _Impeach my bush_!”

Stacie was just making fun of her now, she was convinced of it.

”I think you’ll find that my bush has already been impeached, sadly,” Amy said mournfully.

”Can we please not sing songs about genitals to thousands of people? You guys are killing me.”

Amy looked at her like she was stupid.

”Well, this whole thing is about lesbian sex, so not sure how we’re gonna accomplish that?”

”Exactly?”

Stacie looked at Beca with raised eyebrows.

”Don’t worry, you can be sexy too, me and Chloe will help you figure it out. I like a challenge.”

”Wow. Thanks Amy.”

”What are friends for, Shawshank.”

”There are love duets without genitals, people. That’s all I’m trying to say."

Cynthia-Rose shook her head and sighed like they were all dumb.

”Really? You’re not going to do _Crazy in love_? You’re really not going with that?”

Chloe looked apprehensive.

”I’m not sure I can pull that off… My voice doesn’t have the range it had before the surgery…”

Beca forgot to be embarrassed for a moment. She knew there was a lingering doubt in Chloe, that made her feel less-than on occasion, even though Beca was 99% sure it’s all in Chloe’s mind, she’s never been able to hear anything other than a loss of a high note or two at the very top of her register. She still has great range, since she can go way lower than she used to. But she doesn’t lead as often as she used to and Beca noticed how she often defers to Legacy or Amy when it comes to soloing.

She turned to her and took her hands in her own.

”Hey… You’re still one of the best singers out there, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with your voice, OK? You can do this.”

Chloe looked back at her and Beca saw that her beautiful, blue eyes were shiny. She squeezed her hands and Chloe squeezed back.

”Thank you…”

Cynthia-Rose shook her head.

”Yeah…you’re going to do fine with that duet.”

”See, no one else hears any difference either? We could totally pull that song off.”

Beca smiled at Chloe.

Amy put a hard candy into her mouth, chewed it loudly and watched them with interest, like she was at the movies.

”Oh, they weren’t talking about the singing.”

Beca realized she’s was still holding Chloe’s hands.

”Maybe they should do _Drunk in love_ instead!”

Stacie shot them a happy smile, like she thought it was a great idea.

”NO! There’s no way, nope.”

She mixed that song and knew the lyrics, there was no way she was singing to Chloe Beale about their beautiful bodies grinding in a club or having sex in the kitchen. She heard the lyrics in her head, about foreplay and panties being pushed to the side, and felt her cheeks burn. She glanced at Chloe, who’s laughing at Stacie like she hasn’t said anything strange.

”Gaga? _Do what you want_ , the X-tina version?”

”NOPE.”

There was no way she would sing ”do what you want with my body” to her best friend.

Beca glanced at Chloe.

If Chloe was surprised Beca didn’t say _Titanium_ , she didn’t show it. It was kind of their song, in some weird way. But it was also the song that Chloe hinted at masturbating to and Beca just couldn’t focus on singing in front of a Pride audience with the image of Chloe touching herself as the song ”really builds” in her head. Nope, no way.

Chloe suddenly looked like she'd had an epiphany.

" _Your Song_ , the Moulin Rouge version! Super romantic and no genitals!"

She winked at Beca. It's a ridiculous gesture, but Chloe's winks have always made Beca feel a little breathless, for some reason.

Beca sighed.

”I haven’t seen Moulin Rouge.”

She knew exactly what was going to happen now. Because like movies, Chloe Beale is sometimes predictable. Like the squeal of excitement that inevitably came next.

”Oh my GOD, Beca, you haven’t seen Moulin Rouge? We’re having a movie night!”

”Great. Just what I wanted.”

Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. As usual, nobody cared, least of all Chloe.

Cynthia-Rose leaned over to Fat Amy.

”Do you remember when Chloe went to the Halloween party as Satine in a skimpy corset and Beca couldn’t talk properly all night and kept spilling shit on herself?”

Amy put another candy in her mouth.

”That was hilarious!”

”Eh...Hello, I’m standing right here!”

Cynthia-Rose smirked at her.

”Yeah, we know.”

It’s not until they got back home that she realized she’s just talked Chloe _into_ singing a supercharged love duet with her. A song that’s only slightly less suggestive than singing about grinding against her in a club. Beca loved singing with Chloe. With all of them, sure, but with Chloe especially. Even that first day, horrified that someone burst into her shower naked, she could hear how good they sounded together and how their voices meshed. So, nodes or not, she’s glad the duet is with Chloe. Vocally, that is. The rest scared her shitless.  
She banged her head gently against the desktop when it sunk in that she had committed to sing about being crazy in love with her best friend in front of thousands of people. Her best friend that… confuses Beca sometimes.

***

The next evening, Chloe knocked on her door holding a Blu-ray with a gaudy cover and a look on her face that said that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

It was just them, which was slightly disappointing, since that meant Beca would have to pay attention to the movie. Normally, she could watch with one eye and think about other things and Chloe got distracted by debating plotlines and soundtrack with the other girls, instead of paying attention to the fact that Beca wasn't paying attention to the movie. It was also disappointing because there was plenty of space and no excuse to sit close to Chloe. Beca wouldn't admit it even at gunpoint, but Chloe kind of got her hooked on the cuddling thing. Sitting with her legs over Chloe's lap, or Chloe leaning her head on Beca's shoulder during movie night. It was comforting and cozy and since Chloe did it seemingly on autopilot, Beca didn't need to be self-conscious about it. Being physically close to Chloe didn't make her feel trapped or itch to get up and leave, like it usually did with other people. She had tensed up the first time but found herself relaxing into the touch and kind of missed her body heat when she got up at the end of the evening.

Chloe, however, didn’t care that the big couch was empty apart from Beca. She flopped down and seamlessly aligned them, shoulder to shoulder, hips touching. It felt nice, but again, Beca would never admit to that.

The movie wasn’t what she had expected. For one thing, it had some good mashups in it. And some cool new versions of songs she hadn’t thought twice about. She could see why Chloe was into it. She wasn't so sure about the love story. Was it worth that much pain for a few weeks or months of happiness? Secretly, Beca thought Satine had a point. Love was all well and good, but what happened when they were stuck together in a crummy little room with no way to pay the bills? Was love really all you needed?

When Jesse and she realized they were more siblings than lovers and had The Talk to redefine their relationship into friendship, they turned out to be really great at that and spent the night after breaking up joking and laughing. Beca knew it was weird. But she loved him, she just wasn’t in love with him. Maybe she never had been. Sex had been sweet and uncomplicated, but never passionate. Jesse was considerate lover. He just didn't… turn her on. So, maybe Beca just didn’t understand love.

Chloe curled up closer to Beca and put her head on her shoulder. Beca glanced at the tears trickling down her cheeks. Chloe would cry at anything, but she could tell that she was invested in this unrealistic love story. And she’s invested in Chloe, so she kept watching, even though she wasn’t sure she believed in grand gesture love. But it was going to be dynamite to sing this song with her.

On the other hand: if one of the Bellas had been coughing their lungs up and wanted a last moment in the limelight, she would have done anything to make it happen. Chloe would obviously be Christian if she were a character on Moulin Rouge. But if she cast her as Satine, Beca realized that she would have held the acapella committee at gunpoint if that would have gotten Chloe on stage at Carnegie Hall for her dying wish. Maybe she wasn’t such a cynic after all. There were some kinds of love she believed in.

***

Beca wasn't surprised when Chloe showed up for their first Pride rehearsal bursting with ideas. Had she approached Russian lit with anything like the motivation and discipline that she applied to acapella planning and practice she would never have failed, intentionally or otherwise. Beca felt like Chloe truly didn't get enough credit for her choreography work and reminded herself for the hundredth time to tell her she was awesome more often.

A lot of the moves were things they might normally do for competitions. Others were... suggestive. They’d had suggestive lyrics and moves before, but always in a performance context where she and Chloe were a small part of the bigger picture even if they soloed. Beca had never stood in front of the Bellas having to act like they were lovers. When Chloe pulled Beca close, she could feel how stiff and awkward she was.

Stacie looked at her with raised eyebrows.

”Why are you being all ’this is my dance space, that’s yours’?

”Yeah, you need to get it on already.”

”Thanks Amy, not helping.”

”We should be watching something that will get you 20-to-life in my country.”

”Really, Flo?”

Chloe tut-tutted at them.

"Come on guys, give Beca a chance to learn the choreography, she'll get there."

"Do you need some of my butt confidence?"

"No, Amy. I don't need butt confidence, I need to be left alone so I can learn the steps."

Chloe bent forward and talks quietly enough for only Beca to hear.

"Do you want to stay on and work on just our stuff afterward?"

Beca nodded gratefully.

***

Chloe managed to convince the others to leave after group rehearsal so they could practice without amused Bella eyes on them. She didn't manage to dissuade Amy from transferring some butt confidence onto Beca on the way out.

"Sorry for giving you all the cynical lines."

"I'm the soprano. I can pretend to be cynical."

Beca smiled at her.

"Are you sure? We could switch. I'm the cynic, remember?"

Chloe stepped into Beca's space.

"Are you really? You love us awesome nerds, remember?"

Beca rolled her eyes.

"OK, fine."

"I happen to know you don't have time for any of this. A new arrangement, hours of rehearsals. You should be off impressing your boss before your internship ends at the end of summer."

Chloe took her hand.

"But you did it anyway, to make Cynthia-Rose happy. To make me happy."

Beca didn't know what say to that. Because Chloe was right. Beca lost her cynical streetcred ages ago. She groaned.

"OK. Urgh, let's do this."

Chloe looked down on the ground.

”Does it really suck so much to sing a love duet with me?”

Her voice was small and Beca thought she saw her lower lip tremble. She launched into a panic-y babble fest.

”Oh no, please don’t cry, I totally didn’t mean it like that, I was just being Beca, I love singing with you and…”

Chloe looked up and winked. There was laughter on her face.

”Dude. You suck so much, I hate you.”

”No, you don’t.”

Chloe kissed her cheek. She was right. Beca didn't hate her. In fact, she might love Chloe Beale more than anyone in the world and Chloe totally had her number, otherwise she wouldn't be standing here about to dance her way into Pride history. Beca inhaled her scent, that subtle “Chloe perfume” she would recognize anywhere.

"Is my…"

"Yes, Chlo. Your breath is fine. It's always fine."

"Aws."

”I like your perfume.”

”I’m not wearing perfume.”

”Great. So I just sniffed your neck like a creep for no reason.”

”I kind of like knowing that I smell good even without perfume. Thanks.”

Chloe kissed her cheek again, like having your best friend sniff your neck and comment on your scent is this sweet compliment. Trust Chloe to give her a pass for her weirdness. Beca was still mortified.

Beca knew there was going to be a number of problems with the routine, even without the Bellas. Beca didn't do romantic, for one. She resorted to sarcasm and awkwardness and hoped her potential partner was into that. Jesse was, she had been lucky that way. Now she had to fake romance on stage, without having a clue how to do it in real life.  
Chloe was a different story: she had once snuck into Beca's room in the middle of the night, like she knew she couldn't sleep through some sixth sense and dragged her out to look at the full moon from the bottom of the empty pool, pulling a bottle of wine and a blanket out of her bag. When Beca said she was hungry, she smiled and pulled some of the cheesy crackers she liked out of there too and said "I know you" when Beca asked how she knew she'd get the munchies at 2 am? When she asked about the occasion, Chloe said Beca had seemed down lately and needed a distraction. Even back then, Beca had thought what a great date it would have been, had they been on a date and not been best friends. There was nothing wrong with Jesse's movie nights, he was a great boyfriend, Beca knew that. Chloe just had this knack for adding magic to an ordinary day.

The second problem was Chloe's outfit and her sleeveless top. Her toned arms were… really nice. Beca wouldn’t allow herself to use another word for it. And then there was that thing where she’s deceptively strong for a small woman and how the lean muscle moved under the soft skin when she stretched her arms over her head. And then there was the thing with Chloe's skin being so soft against her own naked arms and Beca cursed her stupidity for wearing short sleeves. Chloe’s top was loose fitting and tended to ride up and show a sliver of stomach. Her leggings rode low on her hips and Beca followed the exposed V-shape of soft muscle that started with her hip bone and lead down to her… she averted her eyes. You weren’t supposed to notice things like that when you were with your best friend.

Then there was the choreography issue. Beca's OK with choreography, she's ten times the dancer she was when she joined the Bellas, mostly thanks to Chloe and, she reluctantly admitted, to Aubrey. Chloe said there would be some ballroom moves in their act. That sounded nice and safe. Wrong… When Chloe aligned herself with her and folded her forward like a pocket knife, running her hand up Beca's arm and then down to her hip, Beca felt her cheeks burn with the intimacy of the situation and how her ass connected with the firm warmth of Chloe's hips. Chloe had hugged her tightly before, even spooned her when there was no more space and it hadn't been awkward. But Beca was acutely aware of the firm breasts pressing into her back this time. Chloe naked in the shower flashed before her eyes and she told herself it was just embarrassment that made her feel like this, not the...other option. She didn't know why dancing was different, but it felt more charged somehow. Chloe was beautiful when she danced and Beca got... distracted.

Chloe’s hand slid down and landed on her hip and Beca’s mind went blank. She had no idea what the next line of lyrics were.

"Sorry, I lost focus."

"Don't worry, we'll get it."

There was also the problem of having to look deep into Chloe's eyes for so long during the Moulin Rouge love song segment at the end of their duet. It made her feel soft inside, but also itch to look away, like the gaze was too intense. She doesn't know what she was afraid of, this is her best friend and she felt more relaxed with her than with anyone. Except she didn't normally have to look into her eyes for minutes at a time or grind against her like they're about to have sex. That part was new.

They sound great together, as always. Beca managed to pull herself together for long enough to get some of the choreography down. That's not the problem. She knows there is a difference between how she acts around Chloe and around the other girls. She just doesn’t want to handle it or have to address it.

***

Next day was rehearsal day again and thankfully, the Bellas focused on the music and the dancing and less on embarrassing their captain. They were far from perfect, but Beca felt proud that they'd become so good at what they did that they already sounded OK doing new music. The choreography was far from as complicated as for Worlds or Nationals. There was only so much they could do in a few weeks, before the Bellas left to go their separate ways.

Chloe stayed like they’ve already agreed on a private rehearsal. Beca’s already less stiff and awkward as she slipped into her arms this time.

Somewhere down the line, Beca started to look forward to it. Started to think about being in Chloe's arms, singing with her head on her shoulder, holding her hand. Maybe it was natural. Chloe’s her best friend and she’s going to miss her so much she can’t bear to think about it. This was just more time with her before they had to part. She’d take it, even in this weird form, this make-believe love story. So, she let herself feel it, the longing for her.

***

The Trebles have a farewell thing and they seem to have invited the whole campus. There’s a touch of desperation in the way the Bellas hang out that night, too many shots and teary-eyed hugs masquerading as something light hearted.

Chloe's terrible at keeping secrets, so Beca can see that something's up with her way before Aubrey shows up out of the blue and launches an avalanche of screaming and Bella group hugging. Chloe's convinced her to take time off to spend time with them before they move out and get up on stage with them for their Pride performance. Beca's surprised at how much she's missed her.

Beca hates being this emotional, she doesn’t handle it well and she becomes sarcastic and grumpy instead. Chloe smiles softly at her. She’s always been able to see right through that.

She talks to Benji and loses track of them. When she goes looking for Chloe, she finds her in that corner if the garden where they sometimes used to hide a bottle of tequila in the bushes, since booze tended to disappear at Treble parties if you didn’t keep an eye on it. Chloe, Aubrey and Amy are deep in conversation. There’s no place to sit, but Beca’s OK with the grass. Instead, Chloe pats her knee in encouragement. She shouldn’t. She knows better: her emotions are all over the place right now. But the thing with Chloe is that there’s a disconnect between mind and body, thoughts and actions for Beca.

”You sure? Won’t I be too heavy?”

Amy and Chloe laugh in unison, like she’s said something really funny.

”Could carry her around in my purse all day and not notice she was there.”

Beca rolls her eyes at Amy.

”I’m glad you’re having fun. Really.”

”Aww, come here?”

Chloe stretches her arms out for her, like she’s a baby that needs a hug and not a grown ass woman. But she can’t resist her. It’s out of character for her to be this needy. But Chloe’s is seductively warm and soft, it's too tempting.

One of Chloe's arms goes around her waist, simply because it would be awkward to put it somewhere else. She leans in, almost resting her cheek against Beca's temple. Beca can feel her warmth on her face, she's so close. She tries not to smell her like a creep again. Every day, she finds something new that reels her in. She follows her strong jawline, asking herself why she hasn’t noticed the perfect angle before. How Chloe’s face is strong and sweet at the same time. She tries to look away occasionally. She can't spend the night staring, even though her best friend is gorgeous. It would look weird.

Aubrey and Amy goes to get more to drink and she asks if she’s heavy and if Chloe wants her to move, but she shakes her head and hugs her closer. Her hand moves from her waist down to her hips and her thumb caresses Beca’s hip bone, exposed by her low riding jeans. She can’t stop a shiver.

”Ticklish?”

Chloe’s teasing whisper is warm against her earlobe and she has to make a conscious effort not to shiver again.

”Nope.”

She debates herself before saying it.

”It feels nice.”

Chloe’s eyebrows hiked up and Beca saw how the wheels keeps turning in her head. Beca’s official stance was that she didn’t like to be touched. Yet here she was, clinging to Chloe like a koala. And it isn't the first time, she knows that.

Chloe shifts her hips a little. Beca takes a deep breath as her curves presses against her hips and the warmth of her skin spreads to her own. Beca's heart races. She puts her arm around Chloe's bare shoulders. Her skin is so warm against her own.

Chloe moves her palm to Beca's knee, sliding down and back up again. She does it again. Some would call it a caress. Beca's body feels strange. Heavy and hot and demanding. She can't stop touching Chloe. She feels like she's maybe losing control of this, whatever "this" is.

Chloe looks into her eyes. Beca feels like she's falling into her and can't look away.

Stacie and Cynthia-Rose shows up and calls out to them to come dance. Beca loves them, she really does, but in that moment a little less.

"We should probably… go be with the others."

Beca knows she's right.

"Yeah."

But she doesn't move. Not until Stacie threatens to come get them and the moment is over.

They walk over to the pool and somewhere along the way, a guy Beca's never seen before attaches himself to them. When Stacie hands her a red solo cup by the pool, he's still there.

"Hi, I'm Dave."

Beca doesn't care. She doesn't want to talk to anyone but the Bellas tonight. But she can't be rude, he might be a friend of Benji or Jesse for all she knows. He talks at her about graduating and what music he likes. Beca hums non-committedly in response.

A pair of arms slide around her neck from behind and there’s a peck on her cheek and she doesn’t have to look to know that it’s Chloe. It’s such a Chloe thing to do. Her best friend looks over her shoulder and winks at her as she walks away with Aubrey.

"The redhead… Is she single?"

He gestures with his red cup in Chloe's direction.

"You’re obviously not into me, so I figure you don't mind me asking. Cause daym… She’s easy on the eyes.”

”Hey! That’s my best friend you’re talking about.”

”Calm down… It was just a compliment, she’s hot.”

”I know that! Everyone knows that, it’s not like it’s a big newsflash to me that my best friend is hot.”

"Are you one of those girls who doesn't think anyone's good enough for their friends and tries to sabotage their relationships?"

Beca gave Dave a filthy look.

”Girls love being psychoanalyzed by guys they’ve just met.”

"Don't want to waste my time if she isn't single."

"Yeah, would be terrible if you ended up talking to a woman without getting laid. You don't think she's a little out of your league?"

He shrugged.

"Won't know unless I ask her."

Not for the first time, Beca wished she had the confidence of a mediocre white guy. She wasn't sure why she was angry with him. He wasn't worse than any other guy she’d been randomly hit on by. She doesn't even know why she says it.

"Chloe's spoken for."

"So, she has a boyfriend?"

"I didn't say that, I only said that she's spoken for tonight."

Comprehension dawned on his face.

"Oh… So what? You guys are…?"

"What if we are?"

He sighed.

"That explains a lot, I guess."

"Hey! Girls can say no to you and not be… gay, or whatever, you know."

"Sure. But usually they don't try to bite my head off if I compliment their best friends. That's something a guy would do if I accidentally hit on his girlfriend."

He raised his cup and drained it.

”That’s my cue to go looking for new hunting grounds. Well played, by the way. Like I said: she’s hot.”

”Thanks. Your opinion means the world to me.” Beca deadpanned.

Beca walks off and leans her head against the cool wall of the building. When did she start feeling like this? Like Chloe was hers and she didn’t want anyone else to touch her to the point of lying to a stranger about them? This is a disaster.

***

The following day was Jessica's birthday. Or rather, they thought it was, but gradually realized it was Ashley's and hurriedly had to hide a "Happy birthday Jessica!" banner they made. Fortunately, the cake hadn't been decorated yet.

Beca walks past Chloe's room, humming. The door is ajar and Chloe's in front of the mirror, putting on eyeliner. Their eyes meet in the reflection.

_I was thinking ‘bout her, thinkin' bout me_

Chloe falls in effortlessly.

_When I see your face, here's not a thing that I would change_

They smiled at each other in the mirror. They could always find each other vocally.

Beca feels warm inside as she goes to join the others in the living room. They've started the celebrations early, judging by the dance party that's happening. Amy's probably convinced them to do "lunch shots" again. She'll miss the hell out of these impromptu dance parties. After a while, Chloe comes down too and they all throw their arms in the air and get into it.

The song changes. She doesn't know the next one: it's slower, a dark, almost bluesy sound. Chloe knows it though, and mouth the words as they dance to it, even though it's not one of those songs you're really supposed to dance to.

_I could be your sweetest compromise_

Beca doesn't mean to get so close to her, she just got out of Stacie's way and then she's almost brushing against her. She just has to take a tiny step back for her to be flush against Chloe. She won't find it strange: she's naturally tactile, as Beca knows only too well by know.

Chloe’s taste in music is decidedly more ”bubblegum” than Beca’s, even if they like a lot of the same songs. When Ariana Grande comes on, Beca is tempted to grumble. But then Chloe starts humming into her ear, falling into the song gradually. Chloe’s voice is sweet per definition, just like its owner. The sound tastes like maple syrup in her mouth. But there’s this veil of smoke that comes over it sometimes, that has nothing to do with having nodes on her vocal cords. It’s just what Chloe’s voice sounds like when she sings certain songs and it never fails to make Beca lose focus.

 _Love me, love me, love me_  
_Harder, harder, harder…_

They're moving like they have been rehearsing, only closer, Chloe flush against her back like a radiator heating her up and Beca can't resist leaning back and into her, head on her shoulder. She has no complaints about Ariana Grande anymore. She looks around and sees that they're alone in the living room now. She has no idea how she missed Stacie, Cynthia-Rose and Ashley leaving. Beca turns her head a tiny fraction and sees Chloe looking at her, eyelids heavy, lips slightly parted, and Beca can’t read the expression on her face at all. She reaches back and puts a hand on Chloe’s thigh, to ground herself. She thinks to herself that they’re close enough to kiss, which is new. Because why would they kiss? They’re best friends. Just because Beca feels lost in her eyes when they sing together and it feels natural to be in her arms, doesn’t mean they should kiss. Does it?

”Hey! You pitches coming, or what?”

Beca is confused by Amy’s voice for a second, like nothing outside the Beca-and-Chloe bubble is real. Her back feels unacceptably cold as Chloe steps back.

The others are in the kitchen fussing over the cake. There's powdered sugar everywhere. There's icing on the serving platter that's fallen of the cake and Beca makes a play for it when the others are looking away. Icing is one of her favourite things in the world. Lightning fast, Chloe grabs her wrist and swirls her tongue around Beca’s finger, stealing it. Her warm tongue along her finger shouldn’t be hot enough to make Beca’s knees buckle, but it is.

She tries to object.

"Dude? Really?"

"I was craving something sweet."

Chloe smiles and winks, like licking sugar from your best friends’ fingers is par for the course and perfectly normal.

That night, she starts making a playlist for Chloe, with all her favorites. Beca wants her to have a nice surprise for her flight home. But then she starts tinkering with it, just some simple layering, mixing some effects in, some sampling and about halfway through, she realizes she can’t give it to her, it’s too sexy now. Every track is steamy with unresolved desire. She didn’t mean for it to be.  
She records them during rehearsals sometimes, so they can listen to themselves and hear what needs improvement. She feels guilty, like she's doing something she shouldn't be, when she loops Chloe's voice into the mixes, like she's singing just for Beca. Once she left the recording device on by mistake, so there's dialogue between them and she takes Chloe saying her name and put it into this sexy remix she's made, with Chloe's voice really close to the mike, hovering above the rest. It makes her heart race. She asks herself what she's doing when she listens to the track again and again, Chloe's voice equal parts sweet and sexy, honey and smoke, just like Chloe herself.

***

On the day of their Pride performance, Atlanta is bathing in sunshine. It’s a beautiful day.

Beca can’t help but notice how hot Chloe looks in her performance outfit. She always did, even in that ridiculous stewardess uniform. But this version, with a tight tank and jeans that made her ass look… She looks away when she realizes she’s staring. Again.

When she peaks past the curtain, Piedmont Park is teeming with people. There are some big names going on after them, so she's not surprised.  
Before they go on, there's the usual pep talk, except there's nothing usual about this: for all she knows, this could be their last performance together. She finds herself dangerously close to choking up.

”Love you, awesome nerds.”

She doesn’t mean to look directly at Chloe, it just happens. Chloe slips her hand into Beca’s before they enter and Beca asks herself how it can be like this: that just holding her hand feels like something wild that takes her breath away.

Once on stage, the Bellas are on fire. After all the competitions they've done, all that pressure, this is nothing. Performing out of competition is pure joy and Beca's apprehension about faking romance with her best friend fades away. Adrenaline is pumping through her veins, that familiar singer’s high, the wild elation of being on stage with the Bellas when everything works. And singing with Chloe. Always Chloe, moving together in almost perfect sync, knowing exactly where she is even if it’s at the other side of the stage.

Her body is warm and buzzing from all the movement. She’s not quite in control of her impulses as she gets closer and grinds her ass against Chloe’s hips. Beca feels high on the occasion, the audience and Chloe’s warm curves against her own. She does it like they rehearsed, only more, closer. This time, her gaze is steady as she looks into Chloe’s gorgeous blue eyes when they sing the final love duet. What she sees is beautiful.

When the song is over, Beca kisses Chloe, in front of thousands of people. Kisses her like they're lovers. And Chloe kisses her back and Beca doesn’t hear the crowd anymore because Chloe’s lips are on hers, making her deaf and blind, leaving touch the only sense fully operating. She’s never been kissed like this or never kissed like this, maybe both.

When they break it, Beca notices the audience roaring. She blinks in confusion.

”Take a bow already,” Aubrey hisses in her ear.

Just as she’s about to follow Chloe off stage, the master of ceremonies grabs her and introduces her to the audience as captain of the Bellas and asks them to congratulate Cynthia-Rose on her upcoming wedding. Cynthia-Rose is a big hit with the female part of the audience and Beca is glad her sister gets to bask in their adoration, but all she can think about is how she kissed her best friend in front of thousands of people, put her tongue in her mouth and ground her hips against hers, like they did that every day. She can feel panic lurking at the back of her mind. But then there is a whole different set of sensations competing with that one, where she feels high on Chloe and the taste and feel of her and her feet can’t quite reach the ground. And there’s how kissing her and feeling her warm curves against her own was the most erotic thing that’s ever happened to her.

For a moment, she thinks Chloe’s waiting for her backstage. But it’s Aubrey, with an unreadable look on her face.

”That was something... Did you plan that stunt, or was it spur of the moment?”

The tone is sharp. More old Aubrey than the Aubrey who is now Beca’s sister and friend.

”Well, it was for the audience, so…”

Beca tries to pass her, but Aubrey grabs her sleeve.

”Oh, no you don’t. You don’t get to play it like that.”

”Like...What?”

”Seriously, Beca...”

There it is again, that tone of voice, like Aubrey was taking to a misbehaving child.

”Aubrey, what!?”

Aubrey looks at her like she just said she couldn't read or that she believed the earth was flat.

”You really don’t know. Wow. OK.”

”Aubrey, come on. Just tell me?”

There is some mix of pity and contempt on Aubrey’s face now.

”It's not my place to tell you."

Beca moves into her personal space and stares her down.

"But you're going to anyway."

Aubrey takes a deep breath.

"She's going to kill me… But as my father would have said: shoot or get off the grenade launcher. Chloe. She’s probably the prettiest girl you’ve met, right? Or at least top five? And super likeable?”

 _I_ _can't_ _stop_ _staring_ _at her_ _and_ _it_ _drives_ _me_ _crazy_.

Needless to say, that's not what she tells Aubrey.

”Of course.”

”So, how many guys have you seen our very desirable, likeable friend date during the last...three years?”

”I’m not sure, I haven’t really kept tabs…”

But she had. Of course, she had. She remembered about a year ago, when an annoying frat boy gave Chloe his number at a party. Beca wanted to punch his stupid face. Chloe laughed and said she wasn't going to call him, before she took Beca's hand and let her walk her back to the Bella house.

Aubrey sighed when she saw Beca's expression change.

"Exactly. It never occurred to you to wonder why Chloe doesn't date anymore?"

"I just assumed she was busy with the Bellas and…"

"Well, you got that part right, at least."

When Aubrey speaks again, her voice is softer.

”I thought you knew about Chloe and did this anyway, without taking her feelings into consideration. I'm sorry, I guess I was wrong."

"How could you think I would do that to her? I lo…"

Beca's voice dropped off when it started to sink in what Aubrey had really said.

"...love her? Maybe you should pay more attention to her then, because I could see it from a mile away. ”

Beca wants to scream that it’s unfair, because she ”pays attention” to Chloe to the point of distraction. She can feel when she enters a room and misses her immediately when she leaves. She hates hugs, but has problems letting go of Chloe. If she doesn’t talk to her every day, she gets restless. But if Aubrey’s right, she hasn’t been paying enough attention.

"Chloe flirts with people sometimes. But I've only really seen her in love once."

Beca takes a shuddering breath.

"You're not talking about Tom, are you?"

Aubrey awkwardly squeezes her shoulder before she leaves her with her jaw hanging and her heart racing in her chest.

She seriously considers running away. Beca’s terrified. She can always claim she lost Chloe in the crowd, lost them all in the commotion around the Pride stage. But she realizes that she will have to talk to her best friend sooner or later and she needs to woman up, she knows that. Her best friend that she just kissed in front of thousands of people. Her friend, who according to Aubrey, has feelings for her. So, she walks off the stage and into the brave new world post kissing Chloe Beale.

She finds her under a tree, alone, half in shadow, but her face is in the light. She looks at Beca and her eyes are startlingly blue in the beam from the park lighting. Beca starts walking toward her and gradually, her intentions change. Because Chloe is beautiful and Beca’s so _in love_ with her and she needs to stop running away from it. Chloe moves toward her like it’s already decided what’s going to happen, and maybe it is; they walk into each other’s arms like it is.

”Hey.”

Chloe smiles softly.

”Hi.”

Beca knows they need to talk. But you can’t talk and kiss at the same time. And she’s dying to kiss her again: her heart is still racing.

”Was that...OK? Up there I mean?”

Chloe put her forehead against Beca’s.

”Of course it was.”

”I really want to kiss you again and that's probably a terrible idea since you're my best friend and I...”

Chloe's steps into her space and Beca doesn't know who kisses whom, she just knows that they're kissing again. She makes a noise she’s never heard before and unintentionally digs her fingers into Chloe's hip and pulls her closer as their tongues touch. Beca can hear her breath catch. She gets up on tiptoe and wraps her arms around her neck. The kissing is deep and greedy, and Chloe seems to be right there with her, an insistent hand in the small of Beca’s back to keep her close and one in her hair. She groans softly against Chloe's lips.  
She didn’t mean for any of this to happen, she had walked over here to talk about what it meant, or apologize, on the off chance that Chloe had minded. But then there were her bright blue eyes in the light and now there was the hot silk of her tongue against Beca’s. It shoots arousal straight to her sex and she can feel her nipples strain against the tight tank top, and she forgets all about talking. Beca’s hands are clumsy and she keeps trying to pull Chloe closer.

She can feel Chloe’s breathlessness against her lips when she pulls back.

”Take me home?”

It hits her like a sledgehammer what Chloe’s actually saying. What ”take me home” means after a kiss like that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this if definitely M-rated, so only read if you're into the nekkid stuff :)
> 
> Some minor formatting problems, tried to fix it, but no bueno for some reason. Sorry guys.

She knows they should talk. But she doesn’t say anything, she takes Chloe’s hand and holds it hard as they go to find a taxi, even though none of them can afford the extravagance right now, with an uncertain future ahead of them. She needs to be alone with her, even if there will be some though explaining to do to the rest of the Bellas tomorrow.

They sit close together in the backseat. Chloe sweeps her thumb over the soft skin of Beca’s wrist. The gentle, repetitive motion drives her crazy. She’s had no idea that something so seemingly innocent could turn her on like that.

 

”You’re a really good kisser, Bec.”

 

Chloe’s whisper seems loud in the quiet taxi.

 

She groans.

 

”Can you not...do that and talk about kissing at the same time right now?”

 

Chloe leans closer.

 

”Why? Do you find it distracting to talk about kissing?”

 

She starts playing with her fingers, touching the soft skin between digits, and for some reason that drives Beca crazy too. She glances at the taxi driver in the rear-view mirror. He looks at the road with a bored expression and doesn’t seem to care what’s happening in the back.

Chloe’s so close now, Beca can feel her breath on her lips and she’s aching to kiss her again. She blinks in confusion when she realized they’ve pulled up in front of the Bella house. The taxi driver pointedly cleared his throat.

Beca fumbles to get the key in the lock and drops it when Chloe brushes her lips against her neck. The warm touch makes her lose fine motor skills.

 

***

 

”So… we should probably talk?”

 

Beca nods.

 

”Uh-huh.”

 

”So...you want to? Talk… now?”

 

Beca shakes her head. She can’t be sensible right now, she doesn’t have it in her. She can still taste Chloe on her tongue and her body is screaming at her to get closer. She looks so beautiful in the half light of her room, all curious eyes and kiss swollen lips.

Chloe lets a shaky breath out.

 

”Oh, thank God.”

 

Reserved Beca snaps and backs her up against the wall. It feels like when you’ve been under water a fraction too long and you take that first breath, gasping when your head is above the surface. Holding back has been such a tense, tenuous exercise; letting go is such a _relief._ Chloe makes a soft sound between a sigh and a moan when they kiss again, and it goes straight to Beca’s head. And other places.

 

”My room?”

 

None of them knows why she’s whispering, they’re the only ones there. But the situation seems to call for it, somehow.

 

Beca's been in Chloe's room thousands of times. She knows exactly how soft her bed is, from sitting on it. Now it seems like a completely different place: the room where she gets to kiss her best friend-who-might-be-her-lover-now again and the bed where Chloe might get naked for her. It makes her head spin. 

Chloe unties the yellow-and-blue Bella scarf from her wrist and kisses the soft skin underneath, as it falls to the floor at the foot of her bed. Beca closes her eyes: she’s so sensitive there.

She pulls Chloe’s scarf out of the belt loops of her jeans and brushes the skin of her hip bones and her stomach with her fingertips. 

Chloe’s hand slides up and cups her breast. She pulls it back almost immediately, like she’s afraid she’s crossed a line and gone too far. Beca puts it back, keeping her own hand on top of it for a few seconds to show that it's OK. It’s more than OK, she wants her hands on her, everywhere. She pulls on her tank top and Beca obediently lifts her arms up, heart racing.

Chloe touches the pink tattoo on her shoulder. She pulls Beca closer and traces it with her lips. Her fingers find the marks on her back, she knows where they are without looking. She pushes the bra strap off her shoulders and deftly unsnaps it and Beca jealously wonders if she’s done it before, to another woman.

She's hugged Chloe hundreds of times, but it's not the same, touching the naked skin of her back, sliding her palms over her ribs, sneaking her hands under the fabric.

Chloe is predictably mouthwatering in cream lace when Beca pulls her top off. She told Beca years before that she always wore cute or sexy underwear for performances because she liked the confidence boost. Beca wishes she had worn something sexier than plain black cotton. It doesn't seem to be a problem: Chloe looks at her like she's her favourite dessert.

Standing in front of Chloe’s bed, they look at each other and know that this is it. This is when they cross the line and can't go back. Beca tries the words on for size: _we should stop, this is a mistake._ The truth was, it felt like a mistake that this hadn’t happened already, preferably frequently, during their time together. She gets up on tip-toe and wraps her arms around Chloe's neck before she kisses her. The feeling of her warm skin against her own is lovely. 

Chloe slowly opens the button on Beca's jeans, like she wants to give her a chance to say no if she's not comfortable. When she pushes them down her hips, Beca awkwardly tries to help, but kind of forgets that they're skinny jeans and can't just be kicked off. Chloe goes down on her knees in front of her and kisses the skin on Beca's stomach when she steps out of them. Beca's heart pounds in her chest. Seeing Chloe like this, being undressed by her, is so hot. The brief touch of her lips drives her crazy.

Chloe shimmies out of her own with far more grace. She's seen Chloe in her underwear lots of times and, of course, naked in the shower. But she'll never, ever get over how attractive she is, and how every line of her body seems to conspire to catch Beca’s attention. Even when she was terrified that some acapella maniac walked into her shower to kill her, she had been blown away by how gorgeous Chloe was. Her scumbag brain memorized every detail. Chloe’s a redhead _everywhere._

Beca lets her hand slide down her stomach and brush the edge of her underwear. Chloe lets out a shaky breath as Beca's hand slips inside the fabric. It feels rough in comparison with the velvety feel of her skin. She sticks to caressing the skin just under the hem: she isn't quite brave enough for the rest yet.  

Chloe gently pushes on Beca’s shoulders to get her to lie down and follows. They smile at each other and Chloe caresses her cheek with the back of her hand. Beca takes a shaky breath.

 

”I've never done this before, and I have no clue what to do and I just feel like you're going to be way better at this than I am."

 

”I remember this freshman who said she couldn’t sing…”

 

”Yeah, that was a bald-faced lie. This is real apprehension.”

 

"I haven't either. We'll figure it out.”

 

Chloe shifts and grinds softly against Beca.

 

"I've thought about it a lot, though. Sometimes I think about you when I touch myself."

 

Beca should be freaked out by that, but her body responds in a completely different way, arching into Chloe. She feels like she might come from the subtle movement, if she continues.

 

"You obviously don't mind."

 

There's laughter in Chloe's voice, but of the loving kind.   

 

She brushes one of her dusky pink nipples with her fingertips. Beca is suddenly very still, her deep breathing the only sound in the room. Chloe replaces her fingers with her lips and then the tip of her tongue. Tentatively, she sucks gently on the little nub. Arousal shoots down to Beca's sex. Beca shapes her hand around Chloe's hip and presses her palm into the flesh, heart pounding in her chest. She can't stop looking and touching, Chloe is so beautiful when she's aroused, her cheeks and chest blushing, her full lips parted and that little crease on her forehead that makes tenderness wash over Beca. She looks into her eyes and realizes that the expression on Chloe's face is desire and it's for _her._ The thought makes her head spin.

She looks at how fast and erratic Chloe’s pulse is before she puts her lips on it to feel how soft the skin is. Chloe moans softly as she touches it with her tongue and travels down, to her collarbone. Beca tries to find exactly where to kiss her to make her body language restless and her hands demanding.

Touching a woman is very different from touching a man: more so than she had imagined. But also, strangely familiar, likes something clicks into place. She knows what to do even though she didn't think she would. She knows what she wants to do to Chloe and maybe they're one and the same.

Beca touches the lace of Chloe's underwear and asks for permission with her eyes. Her heart hammers in her chest as she slips the flimsy material over her hips. She slides her hand down Chloe’s stomach and gently touches her slick heat. She pauses, trying to process the strange, sensational feeling of her arousal on her fingers. A feeling of unreality strikes her. She can’t believe that she’s in _Chloe’s_ bed, being asked to touch her like this.

Chloe puts her own hand over Beca’s and applies light pressure. Beca's jaw drops as she throws her head back and moans, like the awkward touch is the sexiest thing that's ever happened to her.

 

”God, Beca...Don’t stop.”

 

Beca is more than happy not to stop, to not ever stop: the feeling of Chloe’s hot arousal drives her crazy. She loves the way the soft, silky folds feel against her fingers. It isn’t a motion she's used to performing at this angle, and her wrist aches after a while. But she refuses to pause, or change, or stop, for fear of breaking this spell, where Chloe gets slick and wet, all soft gasps and breathy moans. Is she really good at this? Or is Chloe stroking her ego? She has no idea, but she knows that Chloe naked, back arched and ginger hair in a curly mess after Beca ran her fingers through it, is the sexiest thing she’s ever seen. She's just about to whisper in her ear and ask what she needs, when Chloe’s nails dig into her shoulder almost painfully. Slack jawed, Beca watches her come apart underneath her.

She hadn't realized how long a woman's orgasm lasted compared to a man’s. Beca doesn't care that the Bellas are national champions, she doesn't care if she ever becomes a music producer, or moves to LA. In that moment, she only cares about the look on Chloe Beale’s face when she makes her come for the first time.  

Chloe lays her head on Beca’s chest and is still for a few moments, while Beca lovingly caresses her back and kisses the crown of her head. She feels high: the euphoria is incredible.

Chloe rolls over almost on top of her and Beca groans when she feels her soft folds against her own and arches into her. She wonders if she should be embarrassed by how wet she is, but Chloe's low moan into her mouth as they kiss greedily reminds her that Chloe doesn't do embarrassed, unless it has to do with a cappella singing. She wraps her arms around her shoulders and pulls her even closer: she wants all of Chloe against all of her. Everything about her drives her crazy: her scent, how soft her skin is, even her sweat mixing with Beca's on her chest.

She's teetering just on the edge of climax and impatiently tries to angle her hips to increase the friction. Chloe reads the signals and slides a hand down between them. Beca's so grateful none of the other Bellas are home, because she's much louder than she's ever been before as she grinds against Chloe's palm. She loses every shred of dignity as she moves and arches against her. Her hand on Chloe’s neck contracts involuntarily as she comes, leaving wisps of ginger in her palm as she unclenched her white knuckled fist.

Chloe doesn't stop touching her. She lets her calm down from her climax, but she keeps caressing her, staying away from her oversensitive clit. They kiss, gently and tenderly in the beginning, but Beca is surprised at how quickly she gets turned on again. She can hear them, how wet everything is, how they're almost friction free. It's gentle this time, and slow. She comes sighing in the crook of Chloe's neck. Chloe comes a few minutes after her, moaning into her mouth as they kiss, the tight little circles Beca learned that she liked doing exactly what they're supposed to do. Apparently, she's a fast learner.

 

”This was good… right?”

 

Beca’s pretty sure she knows the answer, but she wants to hear Chloe say it.

 

”Can you please not insult this mind-blowing experience with ’good’?”

 

"It's so weird that we're doing this."

 

Chloe frowns.

 

"Weird good or weird bad?"

 

Beca smiles.

 

"The _I can't believe I'm actually here in your bed_ kind of weird. "

 

”So… Good?”

 

”Urgh, so good.”

 

And Chloe smiles when she says it and it’s not how she normally smiles at all, all sparkle and sunshine. This a sultry, sexy, private smile that Beca’s never seen before and she can’t believe it’s for _her._ They should be sleeping, it's almost morning. But they're both still too high on each other.

Chloe gets up to get some water. She doesn’t put anything on, which doesn’t surprise Beca. Chloe is, like she said, pretty confident about all of it. Beca stares unabashedly.

 

”Dude. I don’t know why you ever wear clothes. If I were you, I’d walk around naked all the time. You’re so pretty, Chlo.”

 

Chloe comes back to bed and curls into Beca's side and puts her head on her shoulder. She smells of Beca’s sweat and of sex and of _Chloe_ , that scent Beca had originally thought was a subtle perfume but is just a combination of her skin and make-up and shampoo. Beca’s turned on again, just like that, from knowing she put that look on her face and made her body heavy and sated in her arms.

She kisses her jawline and tastes the salt on her neck with the tip if her tongue. Her hand drifts down to the curve of her hip and to the inside of her thigh. She can already feel her chest tightening and her breathing change.

Chloe makes a soft sound, a little half laugh.

 

”You’re insatiable, Bec.”

 

”Sorry, do you want me to…”

 

”Of course not. I love it.”

 

Chloe looks into her eyes and Beca sees the truth of that statement in her hooded eyes and heaving chest.

 

”I want to go down on you.”

 

She does. She really does. She has no idea why she had been worried about this. Being naked with Chloe was her element, like music. The label on her sexuality was ”Chloe Beale”. She had a vague feeling that the epiphany should have freaked her out.

Chloe’s breath catches and she looks at her with hooded eyes.

 

”Are you sure?”

 

Beca answers by kissing her way down Chloe’s body, trying to map all the spots that make her gasp and squirm.

The near white of her breast contrasts wildly with the pinkish red of her nipple. Her skin is so soft and Beca’s heart races when she touches her. Her breast fits almost perfectly in Beca’s hand. Chloe loves pink. Beca looks at her kiss swollen lips and sex blushing scarlet from arousal and thinks that she might like pink too. She presses her lips against the silk of her new lover’s sex. The taste of Chloe is animal and primal and it takes a few moments to get used to. It makes her heart race and her lower belly throb. Chloe takes a shaky breath when Beca presses her lips against her folds and gasps when the tip of her tongue swipes out to taste her. She becomes bolder and swipes the flat of her tongue all along the slick silkiness. There’s a hand in her hair now, grabbing almost painfully and Chloe rocks her hips against her. She says her name in a voice Beca’s never heard before, veiled and low. She feels her own wetness against the inside of her thigh, and she puts her hand firmly on Chloe’s hip, so she won’t fall for the temptation to touch herself and lose focus on her lover.

 

”I want to be inside you…”

 

”I want you to…”

 

Chloe is aroused enough for it to be friction free to slide into her. She throws her head back and unabashedly pushes her hips against her tongue, telling her how good it feels, before she falls over the edge.

Neither of them have the energy to go again. Beca loves the feeling of just lying there, skin to skin, the scent of each other’s sweat and arousal still lingering. All of Chloe against all of Beca. She never wants it to end. She doesn't even notice falling asleep, her exhausted head against her new lover's cheek.

 

***

 

Chloe’s a breast girl. Beca snorts when she sees where her hand landed during the night. The sound makes Chloe mumble something, before snuggling closer to Beca's back. Slowly, she stirs and opens her eyes. Sleep warm Chloe, with sex hair and tired eyes, might be Beca's new favorite thing in the world. She looks down on the hand cupping her breast.

 

”Dude...Really?”

 

Chloe yawns, but doesn't remove her hand from its position.

 

”You have an amazing rack, Bec.”

 

”Such a romantic.”

 

”I am, actually. Stick around and I’ll bust out some moves.”

 

The hand flexes and Beca feels her body respond. She turns over in Chloe's arms.

 

"Sorry, I probably have terrible morning breath."  


Beca cups her cheek.

 

"Your breath. Is fine. Seriously."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Mmhmm. Also, I don't care. I really like kissing you…"

 

Chloe's smile is like sunrise and Beca's heart melts.

 

”I want to make you come again. I'm down by one orgasm.”

 

Beca rolls her eyes.

 

”God, Chloe…Stop competing, sex isn’t acapella, I promise you made it to Nationals last night.”

 

Beca groaned in surprise as Chloe took her nipple in her mouth and swirled it with her tongue. It's all it took to turn her on again.

 

”You. Love. It.”

 

Chloe kissed her between every word and Beca had to kiss her back. Kissing Chloe was nearly a compulsion by now.

 

”You’re so weird.”

 

”And you love that about me.”

 

”I do.”

 

It was dangerously close to I love you, she knew that. But she’d told Chloe she loved her before, even though it had been in conjunction with ”dude”.

 

”Baby?”

 

”Yeah…?”

 

”I just wanted to know what it felt like to call you that.”

 

Beca should really say that she hates sugary or infantile nicknames. But then there’s the problem that this is Chloe and the rules don’t apply to her and how it sounds kind of hot coming from her mouth.

 

They both jump at a fist pounding on their door.

 

"Pancake time, pitches!"

 

Amy's voice was loud enough to sound like she was in the room with them. Beca tried to pretend that she was surprised that Amy knew she was in here, but she wasn't. They’d been pretty obvious last night. Chloe pouts at the interruption and Beca is overcome with tenderness, like she by every single silly thing Chloe did these days.

 

”Beca?”

 

”Mmhmm?”

 

”Is this a...thing now?”

 

”You mean...us?”

 

”Yeah.”

 

Beca’s inner surly teenager yells at her to run from this and how she can’t possibly date someone like Chloe. It isn’t even that she’s a girl, but that she’s all rainbows and sunshine, and Beca is a cynic. Except that she might not be so much of a cynic anymore, she kissed the girl she had a crush on in a ridiculous romantic gesture in front of a whole Pride parade.

 

”Maybe. Do you want it to be a thing?”

 

Beca tells her inner teenager to sack up.

 

”Sorry, can I start over? I would like it if this...we, were a thing.”

 

”A...girlfriend type of thing?”

 

Beca’s stomach feels like she’s on a rollercoaster when she nods. Chloe’s smile is blinding and Beca’s stomach does that rollercoaster thing again. Because Chloe is the most beautiful thing Beca has ever seen and she can’t believe her luck. Beca Mitchell loves sunshine and rainbows, god help her.

 

”Do we tell the Bellas?”

 

”Bec… You laid one on me in front of half of Atlanta. We’ve kind of already told the state of Georgia, so I don’t think there’s any chance in hell the Bellas are going to let that go. Better just to rip the band aid.”

 

”Urgh… You’re right. This is going to be so awkward.”

 

When Beca grabs the door handle to head for the kitchen, Chloe catches her and wraps her arms around her.

 

”I’ve waited for you. I’m so glad you’re here now.”

 

Beca covers the hands resting on her stomach. She knows Chloe doesn’t just mean here in her room, she means a state of mind. In the same emotional place as Chloe.

 

”Me too.”

 

”Oh, and we’re totally going for Worlds after breakfast.”

 

"Dude… Really?"

 

Chloe backs her up against the door.

 

"If I'm going to be your girlfriend, you _have_ to stop calling me 'dude'."

 

She kisses Beca until her knees turn to jelly and she loses her fine motor functions.

 

It's perfectly obvious what the Bellas have been talking about just before she walked into the kitchen, judging by the sudden silence.

 

"Sorry that we disappeared last night, we…”

 

Stacie interrupts her.

 

”Nobody’s wondering where you and Chloe went last night. It was pretty clear.”

 

Ashley has her hand over her mouth, but Beca can tell by her shaking shoulders that she's giggling.  

 

”Soo… I think Chloe and I might be dating now, maybe. Can you guys please not make it super weird?”

 

There's a part delighted and part insulted chorus of ”of course not” and variations thereon.

 

Then Chloe enters, wearing one of Beca’s old flannel shirts that she stole ages ago and the kitchen erupts.

 

”Hey lezzie!” Amy bellows with a delighted smile.

 

"Welcome to the family.”

 

Cynthia-Rose gives Beca a teary eyed bearhug.

 

”Thanks so much for not making this weird, guys”, Beca growls from within Cynthia-Rose’s iron lock on her.

 

Chloe puts her arms around her and gently pulls Beca back into her embrace, in front of all the Bellas. She froze for a second. Then she realizes that Chloe is now her _girlfriend_ and being embraced by your girlfriend is perfectly normal, so standing here with a half-naked Chloe Beale’s arms wrapped around her is her new normal. What a rollercoaster headrush that thought is.

 

”Let them have their fun, they’ll get over it.”

 

Beca realizes Aubrey is wearing her t-shirt and what looks like Cynthia-Roses shorts. Beca looks at her with raised eyebrows.

 

"My bag is in Chloe's room and I didn't want to… Disturb. So, I robbed your closet, it seemed fair under the circumstances."

 

But she's smiling and there's no trace of anger in her voice. When she walks past Beca she squeezes her shoulder again.

 

"She looks happy. Well played."

 

Beca smiles back at her. She can't help herself.

 

When the others have their back turned, Chloe grabs her and kisses her. It's brief, but still makes Beca's cheeks heat up and her heart race. Suddenly, she doesn't care about pancakes. At all.

 

”Urgh. You’re such a good kisser, I hate you.”

 

”Distracted, baby?”

 

”Yes, because you’re so fucking hot and it’s not fair.”

 

Beca eats with just her fork and holds Chloe's hand under the table.

 

***

 

Chloe is true to her promise to go for Worlds after breakfast.

 

”I’m going to re-stake this claim for the Bellas. Kiss the Treble away.”

 

She mumbles it against Beca’s naked stomach.

 

”This thing, where everything’s a competition with you...?”

 

”Mmhmm?”

 

She hums against her skin as she takes Beca’s nipple between her lips and lets the tip of her tongue graze it, making Beca groan and arch into her.

 

”What?”

 

She swirls her tongue around her puckered nipple.

 

”It’s awesome. Totally awesome.”

 

She loves how Chloe has sex without holding back. She loves how she prefers to keep kissing during the act, unless she’s doing something else with her lips. How she wants as much of Beca against her as possible, skin to skin.

 

She loves Chloe.

 

After sex, she waits until Chloe’s in the shower, singing under the spray, and tiptoes in and yanks the curtain away.

 

”How do you like having your shower invaded?”

 

Chloe wraps her arms around her neck.

 

”Love it.”

 

”Yeah, you seem to have a thing about showers.”

 

”Just when they have attractive and talented people in them.”

 

***

 

It led to a conflicting few weeks. She was devastated that the girls were all leaving and wouldn’t share a house and a life and an...everything anymore. Beca wasn’t the sentimental type. But she was connected enough to her emotions to know when her heart was breaking.

Then there was that other part, where she was so in love with Chloe she had trouble functioning properly. She could lose focus at a moment’s notice and just stare at her. Because Chloe is beautiful and sexy and Beca’s favourite thing to rest her eyes on in the world. And she had a lot of catching up to do, after all.

 

***

 

The other Bellas left, one by one. There were drunken tears and sober laughter and promises to see each other soon. Flo was the last to leave, she got a summer job at a juice bar in New York. It’s a hole in the wall, but she says it’s still bigger than the house she grew up in.

Chloe was booked on a flight two days later. It was the most confusing feeling in the world: feeling this happy and this sad at the same time.

 

***

 

Chloe is packing her suitcase and singing along to The Communards and _Don't leave me this way._ Her back is turned to Beca and she doesn't hear her because of the music, so she stands there and watches her. She loves that song, but it's never made her this sad. When it's over she walks up to Chloe and wraps her arms around her. She leans her head on her shoulder and Chloe turns her head and sees her crying.

 

"Don't leave me. Don't go yet."

 

”I don’t want to.”

 

”So, don’t.”

 

”OK.”

 

Chloe just missed her plane. Never got on it. They spent the two weeks until Beca had to leave mostly in bed or making out on the couch under the pretense of watching a movie or a tv-show that Chloe invariably had picked out and Beca invariably ignored in favor of watching Chloe out of the corner of her eye until she caved in and diverted her attention to Beca. They slow danced in the living room to mushy love songs, an activity that Beca would have considered embarrassingly lame a few years ago, but now seemed achingly romantic. Teen Beca would have hated this version of herself, swaying unironically to some schmaltzy 90s ballad chart topper in the arms of the prom queen she would have pretended to loathe in high school.

They took walks around a mostly deserted Barden, holding hands. Beca used studio resources without permission and recorded a demo of them doing Titanium and said it was for fun, but it was an attempt to hold onto them like they were now and their history. There was a long stretch of silence at the end, because Chloe said that Beca looked hot as her producer persona and ended up straddling her and pushing her headphones off while they kissed, so that the last 10 minutes of the recording was just silence and quiet rustling of clothes as Beca's hands strayed under Chloe's shirt.

It was their last night hiding in the Bella house. Beca had a summer job for a small local radio station and she should be thrilled, even though she had to stay with her dad and the stepmonster for the rest of the summer to be close to work.

Leaving Chloe felt physically painful. Never in a million years had Beca Mitchell thought she would be the first person to say I love you in a new relationship. But this wasn’t really a new relationship, Beca knew that. It was just re-labeled.

After sex, she cuddled close to Chloe and took a deep breath.

 

"I love you."

  
"I love you too."

 

The answer come back so quickly, it was like Chloe had been prepared for it.

"Have you been waiting for me to say it first?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. But it had to come from you."

 

"Why?"

 

Chloe sighed.

 

"I...I feel like I’m usually the intense one in a relationship. I couldn't face saying it and hear you hesitate or not want to say it back."

 

Beca cupped her cheeks and held her gaze.

 

"Just because it took me ages to catch on doesn't mean I love you less. It just means I have some catching up to do. I was always on my way here."

 

"I know, I'm sorry."

 

”I’m in love with you. Like, a lot.”

 

Chloe kissed her softly and Beca felt like her insides were melting. She sighed and put her head on Chloe’s shoulder before talking.

 

”Maybe because I didn’t have that many girlfriends growing up, I confused what I felt for you with friendship. I figured maybe that’s how you feel for female friends you really like.”

 

"I think I've always wanted you. But I loved being your friend, so I told myself it was enough.”

"I'm sorry it took me so long to catch on. We could have been doing this for years if I hadn't been an oblivious idiot."

 

”It's OK. You weren’t ready.”

 

Chloe was right. Beca hadn’t been ready, but she was now.

 

”For someone who keeps failing college, you’re remarkably wise”, she said, almost accusingly.

 

”I failed Russian lit, not social skills.”

 

She wrapped her arms around Beca.

 

”You’re way more important than Pushkin.”

 

”Good to know.”

 

Beca sighed.

 

”Guess I should have known that friends don’t check each other out in the shower."

 

"I KNEW you were checking me out too!"

 

"I totally was. You look amazing naked, anyone would."

 

They’re quiet for a few minutes, the knowledge that this was the last night in so many ways weighing heavily on them.

 

"Chlo?"

 

"Mmhmm?"

 

"Why didn't you say something?"

 

Chloe sighed.

 

"I almost did, loads of times. But you were with Jesse and he's a really nice guy and you seemed happy. What kind of person confesses her love for her best friend when she's happy with someone else? I wanted you to be able to talk to me about Jesse without the complication of knowing that I wished I were in his place."

 

Beca teared up.

 

"See? This is why I fell in love with you. You're too good for me."

 

"I know."

 

Chloe winked at her.

 

"Dude… You could at least pretend to object."

 

"I almost said something just before the retreat. That time we had tea in my room. That's why I asked you."

 

"Wait… I remember that. I totally ruined it, didn't I?"

 

"You were acting weird, since you were trying to avoid telling me about your internship. Which I haven't forgiven you for, by the way...I was afraid we were drifting apart, and you seemed to hang out with Jesse way more than before. I didn't know you spent your days at a recording studio."

 

"I'm sorry. Really, that was a shitty thing to do. I tried not to hurt you, but I just made it worse."

 

”I guess I should have ’sacked up’ and told you anyway, but I’m pretty sure you would have panicked or freaked out. I just couldn’t face hours of Aubrey’s bootcamp with you every day with a broken heart. And you never gave me any sign that you felt the same…”

 

”But I did. I’ve never acted like this with anyone, only you. I’ve never wanted to push you away.”

 

She was a little embarrassed when she mumbled ”I’ve always felt safe with you” against her shoulder.

 

"It's OK. You're here now."

 

Chloe smiles softly. Beca smiles back.

 

"Yeah. I'm here now."

 

Beca watched Chloe sleep. How could she not have realized it was love? When Beca got the flu and was unwashed, gross and whiny, Chloe brought her chicken soup and spent the evening in her room reading aloud from some celebrity gossip mag, despite the fact that Beca didn’t know who half of the people were. She doesn’t remember dozing off, but she remembered waking up with her head in Chloe’s lap and the soothing feel of Chloe’s fingers through her hair. That was love, by anyone’s standards.

 

***

 

The next morning, she catches Chloe walking around the Bella house, touching things seemingly at random. A teacup, the seat of a chair, their favorite blanket. When she looks up, she's crying.

 

"There are so many firsts here... "

 

Beca blushes when she looks at the recliner in the corner, where they added to their sexual repertoire.

 

Chloe smooths a worn wool blanket out with her palm.

 

"I'll really miss watching movies with you under this. I'll even miss how you can't focus on the movie and sometimes end up falling asleep and drooling on me. Or staring. Which should be weird, but I kind of love it."

 

She walks into the kitchen.

 

"This is your favorite cup. But only in the mornings. At night, you like this one."

 

She touches the china and ceramic of the mugs.

 

She points to the carpet in the hallway.

 

"And this is where I found you asleep during your freshman year when you totally misjudged the strength of that punch Bumper made and passed out. You were adorable."

 

"I was gross. I've never been that hungover in my life."

 

Chloe's face clearly says she's sticking with adorable.

 

"I can't believe we're never doing that again. Any of it."

 

Beca takes her in arms.

 

"There's some of it I really hope we'll be doing again," Beca said with a glance at the chair and a wiggle of her eyebrows. She might as well try for levity, since the alternative was crying, and if they both started down that path, they wouldn't make it to the airport.

 

Chloe laughed and hugged her close. Beca looked into her eyes.

 

”You know this house has nothing to do with _us_ , right? Not even the Bellas have that much to do with us. I’ve loved living here and I’m a Bella for life. But you and me? We can totally handle real life, I know it. It’s going to suck to figure out some long-distance thing, but we will. We’re Bloe.”

 

Beca looked at Chloe, wide-eyed.

 

”I can’t believe I just called us Bloe, what’s wrong with me?”

 

”I’m totally telling Amy.”

 

”Nooooo.”

 

Beca whined and buried her head in the crook of Chloe’s neck.

 

"We’ll make new firsts, I promise." she whispered in Chloe’s ear and her new lover cried on her shoulder until the taxi driver honked his annoyed horn.

 

***

 

Beca misses Chloe like she would miss music. Breathing feels harder and smiles further between. They talk all the time, but it isn’t the same. They hadn’t just been close friends, they had been physically close, always. Beca missed her skin against her own, her scent, the sounds she made moving around the house, singing in the kitchen making breakfast.

They’ve been apart for two weeks and tonight is worse than other days, for some reason. She can’t focus, so she gives up and opens her Skype window. It's late, but Chloe is usually up.

It’s like Beca forgets just how hot she is for a few seconds, sometimes. Then she sees her and turns into an embarrassing horny teenager. When Chloe appears on her screen, Beca has one of those moments where she just stares at her.

They talk about everything and nothing, like they usually do, but for once, Beca isn’t paying attention.

She doesn’t mean for it to go this way, she just wants to talk to her before she goes to bed. Catch up and have Chloe tell her about her day. But Chloe’s in her pajama top and she hasn’t buttoned it all the way up and she has sensational legs and Beca stares at the soft skin on the inside of her thigh and wants to kiss it. Run her tongue along the silky, warm surface. Chloe makes her so hungry.

Beca looks anywhere, except into the camera and at the screen.

 

”Babe…”

 

”Mmhmm?”

 

”Would you…”

 

She licks her lips nervously.

 

”Would you...undress for me?”

 

”Beca Mitchell… Are you suggesting Skype sex?”

 

Chloe sounds delighted, like it’s the best idea she’s ever heard.

 

”Urgh, I don’t know. I just really, really miss seeing you naked.”

 

”Aww…”

 

Chloe coos at that, like being objectified by Beca is the sweetest thing she’s ever heard.

 

”Let me check the door…”

 

She disappears for a few seconds and returns with a delighted smile on her face.

 

”Coast is clear. Where were we?”

 

Chloe’s smile changes, from sweet to...something altogether different.

 

Slowly, she unbuttons her top. Beca had no idea that tartan flannel could be that sexy.

 

”This want you want?”

 

Beca nods. It’s embarrassing how much this turns her on.

 

”Would you…”

 

”What, baby?”

 

”Touch yourself?”

 

”Wow, Bec… I didn’t know you had it in you.”

 

”I wish I had you in me.”

 

She puts her hand over her mouth when she hears herself. So trashy. Beca had no idea abstinence would turn her into this, asking her girlfriend to masturbate for her via Skype.

 

Chloe laughs.

 

”Dirty talk… Another first. I like it.”

 

She shrugs the pajama top off and Beca takes a deep breath to steady herself, because Chloe naked? She never gets over the sense of wonder that this gorgeous woman is into her.

Chloe moves her hand slowly down her stomach and Beca’s heart beats so loudly she swears she can hear it in the quiet room. And Chloe touches herself, slides her fingers over the pink swollen folds and moans softly. She’s already slick from arousal.

 

”I wish it was your hand, baby.”

 

”God, Chlo… Me too. I miss you…”

 

Chloe keeps moving her hand and Beca’s mesmerized by the motion. She’s afraid there might be actual drooling.

 

”Babe?”

 

”I want to see you too.”

 

”But...I’ll probably just be awkward and super not-sexy?”

 

”Awkward might be my sexy, you don’t know that.”

 

Chloe’s breathless when she talks, and she grinds her hips slowly against the heel of her hand.

Quickly, before she changes her mind, she unsnaps her bra and lets it slide off. She can tell from the look on Chloe’s face that she liked that.

 

”Put your hand on your breast.”

 

”You are such a breast girl…”

 

”Mmhmm.”

 

Beca’s heart races when she does as she asks and cups her breast. Chloe’s sky blue eyes are darker now and her cheeks are blushing pink from arousal. She’s so hot like this, Beca almost can’t focus on herself.

 

"Talk to me?"

 

It's not exactly dirty talk. It's not dirty: it's hot and sweet and loving and sexy and just Chloe telling how she loves kissing her, how she loves her lips and her tongue. How she wants to kiss her all over and she goes through all her favorite places on Beca's body and talks about what she likes to do to her and what she tastes like and the sounds she makes and how wet Chloe gets when she's aroused and Beca's touching her.

Beca slides her hand down her jeans and it seems to really do it for Chloe. She’s drenched from the display and Chloe’s voice describing all the things they like to do to each other.

 

”I want to look into your eyes when you come, Bec.”

 

So, she does, even if the intensity of it is almost too much. Chloe’s the only one who gets to see her like this.

When Chloe comes, Beca moves her own hand in time with the waves of Chloe’s climax. It doesn’t take long before Beca follows, coming hard with a disheveled, breathless Chloe looking deep into her eyes.

 

”I love you, Beca. I really miss you.”

 

”Me too, babe, so much. I hate that I can’t hold you right now.”

 

”Bec?”

 

”Yeah?”

 

”What are you doing next weekend?”

 

***

 

She had breakfast with her dad and tries to be nice and keep the eye-rolling and sarcasm to a minimum. Thank god there was coffee. Because she needed all the strength she could get and she can’t have alcohol for breakfast, even she could use the strength for this conversation.

 

”Dad… Jesse and I, we… We broke up.”

 

”Ah. I’m really sorry to hear that, Beca.”

 

”It’s fine dad. We’re actually really good friends still.”

 

She was much closer to her dad these days and he really did try to be there for her. But he looked uncomfortable now, scratching the back of his neck in a gesture she recognized.

 

”Is it permanent, or is there a chance that…?”

 

Her dad loved Jesse and would consider him the perfect son-in-law.

 

”Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you…”

 

She took a deep breath.

 

”Do you remember Chloe?”

 

”The girl you lived with? The redhead?”

 

”Yup, that one.”

 

”Sure. Why do you ask? Oh, is she dating Jesse now?”

 

”No... We’re…”

 

Beca could feel her cheeks heat up. She was bad at talking about feelings and she was especially bad at talking about feelings with her dad.

 

”Chloe’s my girlfriend.”

 

”What?”

 

”We’re dating, dad.”

 

”Wow. That’s...unexpected.”

 

There it was again, the neck scratching. But she had to give him props for not freaking out when she sprung something like that on him.

 

”Is it serious or… a college thing?”

 

”No, dad. It’s not a ’college thing’. It’s more an ’I might marry her’ thing.”

 

Beca had no idea she was going to say that when she snapped at her father. That was a lot to unpack on its own.

 

”That sounds… Very serious.”

 

Beca smiled. She couldn’t help herself, thinking of Chloe did that to her.

 

”I think it might be.”

 

”She’s… She seems nice.”

 

Her dad had only spoken to Chloe briefly, a few sentences here and there. But she wasn’t surprised he remembered her. Chloe left an impression on people. If she didn’t, Beca wouldn’t be sitting here confessing her love for her to her once estranged father.

 

”She is.”

 

Her dad laughed. It was a nervous little bark, but not derogatory.

 

”You’ve always known how to surprise your old man, I’ll give you that.”

 

He scratched his neck again.

 

”So, you’re…?”

 

”I don’t know. I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

 

Talking about her sexuality with her father was mortifying. But still not quite as bad as she’d had imagined.

 

”But I know I’m in love with her. Not sure about the rest, but I’m sure about her.”

 

”OK. That’s good enough for me.”

 

He laughed again.

 

”Well played, Bec. She’s very pretty. And talented.”

 

”Can you not talk about my girlfriend, please.”

 

But she was smiling again. And her dad smiled back.

 

***

 

Chloe shows up early Saturday morning and Beca’s afraid to ask when she left Florida. She’s about as competitive a driver as she is an a capella singer. She runs to meet her and kisses her in the driveway for everyone to see. Apparently, the Beca who thought that PDA:s were annoying died when she started sleeping with Chloe.

Her father and the stepmonster aren’t up yet and Beca’s eternally grateful for that. Chloe leaves her bag in Beca’s room and they head to the kitchen for breakfast. But Beca can’t help herself and pushes Chloe up against the wall in the hallway and kisses her again. It evolves into something else and Beca’s just about to suggest they retreat back to her bedroom when she hears a startled little noise.

 

”Erhm… Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

 

If Beca weren’t mortified herself, she would have felt sorry for her poor father, beet red in the face, looking anywhere but Chloe’s wrinkled shirt and Beca’s blushing cheeks as she pulled her hands away.

 

”I...Uh. I’m…Going to make some breakfast. That’s what I wanted to say.”

 

”Thank you, Mr. Mitchell.”

 

Beca should have known that the woman who walked naked into strange people’s showers would take this in her stride.

 

Her father shuffles over to her in the kitchen.

 

"It's not because she's a girl, Bec. I was just caught unawares."

 

”It’s OK, dad.”

 

Chloe comes over.

 

”I’m sorry about earlier, Mr. Mitchell. It wasn’t our intention to make you uncomfortable.

 

"Oh, it's fine. You make my daughter happy, that's the important thing."

 

Beca can’t help but smile at her father. He was doing really well with this, considering he’d probably never even seen her hold hands with Jesse.

 

”Soo, Sheila and I talked about how we’ve never really seen Lookout Mountain. So, we thought we’d make a weekend out of it. We’ve found this great bed and breakfast that we’d like to check out. Give you girls some time to catch up.”

 

Beca hasn’t hugged her father like this since before the divorce: a real, full-contact hug.

 

”Thank you, dad.”

 

Before they leave, Beca puts her hand on Sheila’s arm, probably the first time she actually touched her.

 

”Thanks, Sheila.”

 

That was probably the first cordial conversation she’d had with her stepmother too. But in this moment, she's truly grateful. Chloe is the source of many unexpected changes in her life.

 

”What do you want to do today?”

 

Beca rakes her eyes up and down Chloe and smiled. Chloe bites her lip and shakes her head.

 

”I see. Really, Bec?”

 

”I have an empty house sans dad and stepmonster and the hottest woman in the world right next to me. So, I’d like to take advantage of that.”

 

”Or of me…?”

 

The silk of Chloe’s shirt feels amazing under her hands. But not half as amazing as Chloe’s skin as she pushes it off her shoulders and her girlfriend up against the kitchen counter.

 

That afternoon, they’re still naked on the big living room couch, under a soft blanket. Chloe laughs.

 

”You have really good ideas sometimes.”

 

”I know.”

 

Beca flashes her a cheeky smile, before suggesting that they order pizza. This much exercise takes a lot of energy, after all.

 

***

 

Beca hates it when Chloe leaves. She’s coming to the realization that living without her isn’t an option for her. Despite the talk about sacking up, she terrified that the real world will change Chloe. Knock some of that beautiful weirdness out of her, where you don’t know what she might say or what might happen when you’re with her. How she’ll walk into your shower and force you to sing a duet or call an ice-cold mud bath a ”bonding session” and how she turns everything into a competition that she wants to win just to make you happy. Maybe if Beca’s there with her, every day, she can stop that from happening. Because Chloe should never, ever have to change.

At the end of the summer, Amy suggested that they share a place in New York after moving out of the Bella house, since they were all going to be short on cash in the beginning. Beca knew it was crazy to move to New York to live with a person you’ve just started dating, but she just didn't care. She waited with bated breath for Chloe's yes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still very M-rated, so only read if you're into the nekkid stuff :)
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, guys! It's always nice and nerve wracking fun to venture into a new fandom and pairing :)

So, it’s New York instead of LA. Amy, her and Chloe in a tiny space in Brooklyn.  
Amy is the only person Beca’s ever met who would share an apartment with a couple without batting an eye. She came home with noise cancelling headphones and explained she was going to use them to drown out the lesbian sex noises, which made Chloe laugh and Beca scowl and blush. She might need them. Beca is, apparently, kind of loud in bed, at least according to Chloe.

They're poor in the beginning and it's a challenge sharing a tiny space, especially with Amy, who might have even less regard for personal space than Chloe. It still doesn't feel that different from Barden. It can be frustrating to not be able to drag Chloe to bed whenever she feels like it. But Amy continues her habit of "going out for smoothies" and being gone all day and half the night, so they have plenty of time to themselves. It works and Beca's happy.

Beca learns that having a hot girlfriend comes with the challenge of not getting jealous when strangers undress her with their eyes. Beca has to make an effort not to challenge it. She did a few times in the beginning, but Chloe talked her down and asked her to let it go. Chloe’s a head turner. Handling it like a grown-up is part of the package.

Their first argument after the retreat is all Beca’s fault. Or at least her insecurities. She knows she’s been hesitant bordering afraid to ask Chloe how she labels herself. She shouldn’t care, labels are for music, not people. But what if she’s an anomaly? What if Chloe secretly misses being with a man? Beca doesn’t. She’s so attuned to Chloe’s body, her scent and the noises she makes that she finds it hard to imagine being with someone else. She looks sometimes. But then Chloe walks into the room and Beca gravitates back to her, always. Whatever her sexuality, it’s defined by how she feels about Chloe.

They were in a bar they hadn’t been to before. Beca had no idea if it’s all in her head, but it seems to her like there’s even more admiring eyes than usual on her girl tonight. She caught Chloe looking at a tall, handsome man with what looked like obvious desire and felt jealousy scratch her with black, angry claws. Chloe kept glancing back at him and she snapped at her to maybe be a little more discreet if she couldn’t keep it in her pants. She was shocked by the anger in her own voice and her heart ached at the hurt look on Chloe’s face. Disgusted, she left, to get away from herself more than Chloe.

Chloe came after her and asked how she could talk to her like that, tears running down her cheeks. She screamed that she didn’t know how she was supposed to react to her lusting after someone else right in front of her.

”I’m not a NUN, Beca! It was just a look, come on!”

”I got used to people staring at you, because you’re gorgeous. I’m just not used to you looking back.”

”I didn’t. He was handsome, I looked at him. But not like I look at you. I never look at anyone else the way I look at you.”

”Do you miss being with a man? Do you miss Tom?”

She knew she was being unreasonable, but it was like she couldn’t help herself and all her questions bubbled out of her at the same time. Chloe obviously saw the insecurity on her face.

”Baby...The only male genitals I would be interested would be silicone and attached to you with some sort of leather or rubber contraption. But we can get back to that.”

She pulls her close and whispers in Beca’s ear.

”Tom never made me come like you do.”

And just like that, Beca’s turned on instead of jealous.

They kiss, hard and bruising. Chloe’s hand is buried in the fine hairs in the nape of Beca’s neck, fist clenched to the point of pain.

”I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. I wanted you to touch me for years before it happened.”

And they _fuck_ against the wall, in the shadows just outside the bar. It’s never been like this before: angry and explosive.

She shoves her hand into her underwear and inside her. Chloe is so wet and hot around her fingers and she groans in unison with her gasp. Beca knows it’s a possessive dick move, but she sucks the pale skin of Chloe’s neck until she’s left an auburn mark to show that this woman is spoken for. Chloe moans and arches into her, giving Beca a free pass for her immature jealousy. She keeps the rhythm of her hand steady until her wrist aches and she can't take her eyes off Chloe like this, coming apart under her hands. She buries her head in the crook of Beca's neck to keep quiet and floods her palm with arousal as she shivers against her hand.

Slowly, Beca slides out of her. She wipes her slick hand on her jeans before wrapping her arms around Chloe.

”You have to trust me, Bec.”

”I do… I’m sorry... I love you, I’ll do better.”

”You want to get out of here?”

Beca leaned her head on Chloe’s shoulder. She knows that tone of voice so well. It still makes her weak in the knees.

”I act like an ass and it gets me more sugar?”

”Maybe it shouldn’t. Jealous Beca isn’t my favorite, maybe.”

But she said it kindly, not in a hurtful way and ended it with a brush of her lips against Beca’s temple.

”Luckily for you, possessive, assertive Beca is pretty hot. So, why don’t you make it up to me by taking me home and showing me again, preferably against the nice clean wall in the comfort of our own home?”

Chloe held her hand going home, but Beca feels like she doesn’t deserve it. She feels terrible about how she acted.

***

They sit on the edge of their shared bed in their tiny apartment. Beca looks into her eyes and can’t believe she’s not seeing any anger there.

"Hey…"

Chloe smiles softly.

"Hi."

"I'm really sorry about earlier."

"I get it."

"You do…?"

Chloe looks less than confident for once, as she stares up at the ceiling.

"I'm no stranger to jealousy, Bec. When you were with Jesse… It was hard sometimes. In my head, you were kind of already 'my Beca'. It didn't mesh well with reality and seeing you make out with Jesse."

Beca can't believe that she hasn't thought about how it must have been for Chloe: living with someone you love and seeing them with someone else all the time. It must have been exhausting for her. 

"I was."

"What?"

"Your Beca. Jesse and I were always better as friends. He watches too many movies and I was the aloof girl that had to be won over for some happy ending."

"Hey, don't knock those movies. Sometimes the best friend gets the girl at the end."

"I showed you how I felt through some over-the-top romcom gesture. Urgh… Who even am I?"

"I'm sorry I ruined your street cred, baby."

"You totally did. I can't even be cynical around you anymore."

They end up not having sex. They spend most of the night holding each other, talking about their insecurities and asking all the questions they’ve been afraid to ask before. Chloe wants to know if Beca will still love her if she turns out to be a failure, a real one, not a fake one as in purposely failing college. She asks if Beca’s afraid of failure. Beca says she feels like the future will be OK, as long as Chloe’s there with her.

Beca wants to know why of all people, Chloe fell in love with a grumpy, awkward freshman, when she could have had anyone. Chloe jokes that love is blind but is serious when she says that she was drawn to Beca almost from the first moment and it's proof that Beca’s right: she can have anyone she wants. Because she wanted Beca, more than anyone she wanted before, and now she’s here in her bed after years of longing.

***

Beca's boss sends the Flashlight demo to a colleague and Beca gets a paid internship and then a job offer. A real job as a music producer, even though it’s low level stuff in the beginning. Chloe freaks out and dances around the apartment like she’s the one who just got her dream job and buys champagne that she can’t afford.

Chloe plays with the neighbor’s dog a lot and one day, she says Chloe is a natural with animals and wonders if she’s considered working as a vet tech for extra cash. It turns out her nephew is a vet and one day, Chloe comes home in scrubs, with the story of saving a parakeet’s life and says excitedly that she might check out some vet schools. Beca secretly thinks it’s a waste of her musical talents, but she's happy for her and says she’ll support her all the way, like she always does.

Like that time when Chloe came home with her beautiful ginger hair dyed platinum blonde and Beca hated it and wanted to stomp her foot and say she wanted her redhead girlfriend back, but lied and said it looked great, even when she grew the red back out and the contrast looked super weird.

Because that’s what good girlfriends do.

***  
They have another fight after the whirlwind of events that lead to them going on a European tour, finding out that Amy’s a billionaire and Beca getting signed by DJ Khaled, despite never having pictured herself as live performer.

The Bellas are all thrilled and it makes Beca all soft inside because they’re so happy for her. Chloe’s over the moon, as always when Beca’s doing well.

But when Beca finds out that the contract involves a 6-month tour far enough from Chloe that she won’t be able to see her at all, she almost backs out and her girlfriend has to talk her down and convince her it will be fine. That they would be fine, and that it might be good for them to spend some time apart to learn to appreciate each other more. Beca pretends to believe her, but she knows it’s all bullshit.

Chloe cries when she packs her suitcase and stops pretending she’ll be fine when she’s gone. Beca wanted to be there for her when she started vet school and her new life, not leave her to cope all on her own.

But she does and it’s great and exciting, but she misses Chloe like oxygen. They try to talk every day, even if Khalid and his strange entourage keeps her crazy busy and she hardly has the energy to do anything besides collapse on her bed and sleep when she’s off.

They develop a habit of singing together over the phone, since Beca misses singing with her like crazy. It’s always been their best mode of communication. Well… Second best.

When Khalid says he wants to extend the tour, she knows she should be thrilled. Truth is, she wants to go home. To Chloe, to her life, to some semblance of normalcy.

When one of his background singers get too far along in her pregnancy for her to go on the next leg of the tour, Beca suggests Chloe. Khalid isn’t thrilled that Beca has a life outside of her collaboration with him, let alone a girlfriend, and looks at her like she’s insane. But she manages to sell it: Chloe knows all the songs in Beca’s repertoire, she’s a super-fast learner after all the Bella experience and she’s an all-purpose vocalist after doing so many different genres with the Bellas. Finally, he gives in, because the conversation bores him more than that anything else, she suspects. He may be rich and famous, but he’s basically a rich and famous kid in a man-sized track suit.

She’s so excited when she calls Chloe and it’s like being dunked in cold water when she hesitates and says she really shouldn’t take time off from vet school. After much poking and prodding, Beca finds that her old insecurities about her voice after surgery is the real culprit, mostly, even if she takes vet school seriously and has no intention to fail this time. Chloe says that Beca’s not asking her because she’s the best singer for the job, but because she’s her girlfriend. And Beca’s so tired and so disappointed in her reaction after she worked so hard to make it happen that she snaps at her.

”How the fuck can you say that to me? Even with vocal nodules, you won championships. I’d never disrespect you by putting you on stage if I didn’t believe in you.”

”But I didn’t get chosen to open for DJ Khalid and maybe there’s a reason for that.”

Beca hangs up the phone. She’s never done that before, not even close. It’s not how they are with each other. But she’s devastated that she doesn’t jump at the chance to join her.

It’s not even two seconds before Chloe calls her back and yells into the receiver to loud enough to make Beca’s ear ring.

”I can’t believe you hung up on me!”

”I’m trying out that whole ’living without you’ thing right now and I’m not doing so hot, I guess.”

”I miss you too.”

Chloe voice is changed. Softer, sadder.

_When I’m gone…_

She waits quietly for a few seconds. Then she hears a sigh on the other end.

_When I’m gone…_

Chloe’s sweet voice fills her with the same mixture of joy and calm as it always does, except mixed with sadness that she’s not there to hold her.

_And I sure would like some sweet company and I’m leaving tomorrow, what do you say..._

She’s playing dirty, she knows that. But she’ll do anything to have her close again.

Chloe says she’ll think about it and the next day she says she can get a semester off, but she needs to take a re-qualifying test and Beca swears that she’ll help her study or pay for a tutor or whatever it takes.

***

Four weeks later, she waits nervously for that knock on her door. Khalid kept her too busy to collect her at the airport and Beca worked very hard to not let her frustration show. She sent a car and a super apologetic text message with enough emojis for it to look more like Chloe was the sender than Beca. She hates that their communication isn't working right now, and she needs to fix it.

Chloe feels unreal in her arms, so much more solid than anything during these last few months. She's warm and soft and she buries her nose in her neck and breathes her in. Her body is jolted awake by the warmth of Chloe through the thin shirt she's wearing and she's in shorts and Beca's hand lands on the naked skin of her thigh.

She knows they need to talk. But Chloe doesn't say anything. She throws a strap-on on their bed and looks at Beca.

"Did you bring that through airport security?"

Chloe shrugged.

"It's not illegal, it's not like I brought a handgun."

"You know that whoever manned the x-ray machine would have known exactly what it was, right?"

"Yup. She winked and told me to have a good time. I think she might have been playing for our team."

She starts to unbutton her shirt.

”Are we going to keep discussing airport security, or are you going to show me how much you’ve missed me?”

They're tearing at each other's clothes, trying to get naked as fast as possible, kissing sloppily without finesse. She had never really understood the concept of not being able to help yourself before Chloe. She did now. Obediently, she stands still and lets her slide her underwear over her hips. Being undressed by Chloe is so fucking hot.

"Spread your legs."

Chloe spreads her legs for her, showing a tantalizing hint of soft, pink folds. She migrates to her inner thigh and sees how Chloe is getting a little restless under her touch. Beca has no clue if she's a good lover, or if Chloe gets turned on easily. But she knows that turning her on is her own biggest turn-on. Chloe pulls her down with her full weight in the cradle of her thighs. Beca throbs as she grabs her wrists and holds them above her head. Chloe likes that sometimes: Beca taking charge and showing her what she wants. The first time, when she hesitated, Chloe had whispered ”I trust you” in her ear and that turned her on more than the act. Nothing makes her trust herself like Chloe trusting her. When she takes her breast in her mouth, Chloe almost growls as she arches into her. She feels sweat on her chest and doesn't know if it's hers or Chloe's when they're grinding against each other, heavy breathing the only sound in the room. Chloe adjusts her position and Beca had almost forgotten how much this turns her on, Chloe's slick folds against her own. Chloe grinds roughly against her before Beca adds her hand when they get too wet for the friction to be enough to bring her over the edge.

Chloe's lips against her sex are just as she remembers them, full and warm. Her tongue is agile, and her breath hot against her swollen clit. Beca makes a pained noise. She had known she wanted her, but not how tense and frustrated she had been without her touch.

When Chloe is on her hands and knees in front of her, she looks over her shoulder at Beca, desire written all over her face and Beca truly fears she might have some sort of cardiac episode, because Chloe is so hot like this. When Beca is deep inside her, one hand buried in the wild ginger curls and another one squeezing her hip, she has no idea why she hesitated when Chloe first brought this home. She will never know what it's like for a man to be inside a woman. But she's pretty sure they don't appreciate it enough, as she bends forward and bites Chloe's neck gently and adds fingers to her clit. It takes its toll on the arm she uses for support, but it's so worth it when Chloe bucks against her and moans in that special timbre she has when Beca drives her crazy and she feels her soft walls clench around the shaft, even though technically she can't.

Some days are just for Chloe's hands and lips and for doing all those other lovely things you do that's not penetration. Chloe calls that making love, without a trace of irony. Beca is getting used to calling it that without cringing. It’s all about love, after all. But it's like Chloe understood that they needed to reclaim each other first and that there would be plenty of time for love making later.

She comes so hard, her stomach aches when she's resting, exhausted, in Chloe's arms. Perhaps it wasn't words they needed, after all.

***

There's a message for her that Khalid needs to see her next morning. Beca hates leaving Chloe, but she knows she has to re-join the circus. It's an exhausting day, as usual. Working for Khalid means having no life of your own.

That evening, Chloe comes back with shoulders shaking from laughter and a story from Khalid's Juice Artist or whatever he calls himself, that the great DJ doesn't exactly keep his wife happy in the bedroom, which Beca absolutely did not need to know, but she's happy that Chloe's had a good day. She's not surprised, Chloe can bond with anyone and be best friends with them in a day. Beca's proof of that, if nothing else.

They have annoyingly little time together. One night, she comes home and finds Chloe in this mouth- watering green silk robe that she bought on a shopping trip to town, that Beca had hoped to come on, before being summoned by Khalid to meet some bigwig in the music industry. Beca thinks, or at least likes to think, that Chloe bought it because she likes the way Beca’s eyes slide over it and over the curves it caresses. Likes the way she looks at her when she wears it. Chloe looks at her over her shoulder knowingly as she walks into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Beca throws back a toothy grin saying that she knows that Chloe knows exactly what she’s thinking.

And she is. But she’s grindingly, achingly tired. And she really tries not to fall asleep, she truly does. But Chloe’s humming while she gets ready for bed and her voice is so soothing…

She wakes up from sun warming her face and sits up, terrified that she’s overslept. Apparently, her brain set an alarm for her, so she hasn’t, just barely.

Chloe looks serene on the pillow next to her, red hair flowing down onto the white sheets. She’s beautiful, as always and Beca wants to touch her. She normally wakes up with Chloe touching her in some way, even if it’s just her hand next to Beca’s on the duvet. Normally, there’s an arm flung around her waist or a warm cheek against her shoulder. Chloe is, unsurprisingly, a cuddly sleeper.

But not today. Beca yawns. The room is hot and stifling, so Chloe probably moved away in her sleep. She feels guilty when she sees the beautiful emerald robe thrown over the back of a chair, unwrinkled by Beca’s hands. She debates waking her up to tell her she’s sorry she fell asleep but decides against disturbing her and pads off for a quick shower.

Chloe stirs when she comes back, and she sits down on the edge of the bed next to her.

”Hey.”

”Hi baby.”

Chloe’s nose wrinkles when she yawns and Beca’s heart aches because she loves her face so much. Newly woke Chloe is adorable in her tousled, warm, slow confusion.

”I’ve got to go.”

”Mhhrm.”

Beca smiles at the dissatisfied little whine.

”Same. I really want to stay.”

She brushes a lock of hair away from her face.

”I’m sorry I fell asleep.”

There’s a strange little sigh and Chloe’s brow furrows.

”Oh, you know. It’s fine, you were tired.”

Beca loves that about Chloe, how understanding and tolerant she is of Beca’s quirks. But she senses that there’s some real disappointment under the surface. She feels the same way. Beca's newfound fame is killing their sex life. Tonight, she promises herself, tonight she'll make it up to her.

***

But they get invited to this huge party with some heavy hitters present and Khalid asks Beca to finish a mix they've been working on so he can play it for a producer and there's absolutely no Chloe time.

"Bec?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Which one?"

"Which one what?"

"Can you… look at me when I'm talking to you, please?"

Chloe was holding up two dresses, one black and one green.

"Which one?"

"They're both good, whichever you like."

"But I'm asking you which one you like? I want to look nice tonight. This party is a big deal for you, so it's a big deal for me too."

"You always look nice."

"I just… Want you to want me tonight."

"Mmhmm. Sure."

Beca had lost track of the conversation. She had a great hook, but something was missing. But there was a beat now, something in the back of her mind. She touched a button of the mixing table. Hmm, maybe…

"But I guess you don't."

"Don't what, babe?"

"Oh, nothing."

Chloe sounded kind of upset and Beca wondered if she had missed something. But she could hear her in the bathroom putting the final touches on her make-up, so it was probably nothing. And this mix was nagging at her to figure it out…

She took Chloe's hand and squeezed it when they walked to the taxi. She frowned when she didn't squeeze back. Chloe's cool hand was just resting in hers.

"You look nice, babe."

"I always look nice."

She didn't say it in a playful or flirty way. There was a sarcastic edge to it. Once again, Beca wondered if she had missed something in their previous conversation.

When they arrive, Beca's whisked away to meet someone who blows the mind even of Beca, who's actually not that easily impressed. Chloe says she's fine on her own, but Beca's sure there's something wrong by the tone of her voice.

Later in the evening, she sees Chloe talking to a heavily pregnant woman, who's brought a little boy with her, that's currently delightedly pulling at Chloe's red hair, making her laugh. Beca's not surprised he's taken to her girlfriend. Chloe's great with both animal and human babies. She tries to watch without showing Khalid's producer friend that she's not listening to anything he says. Because Chloe is beautiful with that little boy on her lap and it looks so natural.

Beca thinks of the thing currently in the mini safe of their hotel room. The thing that had cost way more than anything Beca’s ever bought and she had carried home in a paranoid terror that she might lose it. But she had to have it.

Chloe had been on her mind when she walked past an antiques shop, not the kind of place she would normally notice. She stopped and turned back. It was so out of character for her to notice… Jewelry. But there’s was something about a ring in the window. It had a sky-blue stone, same color as Chloe’s eyes, as the center piece in the elaborate design. Art Nouveau, the owner of the shop said, 1920s, which explained why the number on the price tag was so many digits that Beca had to look twice to see if she had read it wrong. Apparently, blue diamonds of that quality were rare, and there were a lot of tiny diamonds surrounding it. So, the price tag was staggering. Beca knew when she saw it that she was going to ask Chloe to marry her one day and it was going to happen with that ring in her hand. She hadn’t been this sure of anything since she told her father she was going for a career in music production.

She imagined that scene in her head sometimes, happening years from now, when she’d found the perfect time. Then maybe even… Family. Becca shocked the hell out of herself by thinking she wanted babies for the first time when she saw Chloe with that little boy. Correction: not babies, but babies with Chloe. Beautiful, bubbly, excitable, ginger babies. She pictured Chloe like that: with a rounded stomach and swelling breasts and realized the thought made her horny more than stressed. Who even was Beca Mitchell, anymore? Suddenly, she wants babies?

She was introduced to Richard Smalls. Tall, handsome, cocky. A little overrated in Beca's book, but a lot of white guys were. Didn't have to work as hard, so never got quite as good. She knew she should be excited to meet him, his latest song went double platinum and he sold out stadiums.  But "sad-man-with-guitar" had never been her genre of choice, regardless.

He was a terrible conversationalist.

"I'm a huge Kanye fan, even though that's probably not politically correct anymore."

Beca tried really hard not to roll her eyes at yet another guy moaning about political correctness.

"I'm more of Kendrick Lamar girl."

"Umm… Isn't that something people say when they want to sound impressive, because he won some prize? "

"The Pulitzer, you mean? Not sure that's just "some price". I just really like his music."

"Sure…"

He winked at her. Beca congratulated herself on not slapping him.

It went downhill from there and she pretended to listen and interjected a "right" or a "sure" here and there, looking for a way out of the conversation. Finally, Khalid's producers friend leaves, so she can excuse herself.

When she turns, Smalls grabbed her elbow and stopped her.

"You're just… So real. Not like the fakes and posers you meet in this business. Women don't have to look and act like prostitutes to impress men. Look at you, you're fine the way you are."

He beamed at her like he had given her a great compliment.

"So… Wanna get out of here?"

She just stared at him. She couldn't believe he thought that this conversation was going well enough for him to get laid. Or that she was even remotely interested in sleeping with him, regardless of conversational skills.

”I have a girlfriend.”

Beca’s careful to enunciate every syllable of girlfriend, so he doesn’t misunderstand.

”Wow. So…You’re gay?”

Beca sighed. The constantly-having-to-come-out-to-strangers was one of the few drawbacks of dating Chloe.

”I’m happy to discuss record labels, but I don’t use them for people.”

”Is she hot?”

Beca smiled acerbically.

”Smoking. And that’s the least interesting thing about her.”

”She could join us.”

”Chloe’s a one-woman girl.”

”Aww, you’re not going to introduce us?”

”Actually, I think I’m going to head out. We’ve had a long day.”

”Hey. That playing hard to get thing is cute, but I saw how you looked at me earlier, so it’s not working. There’s no girlfriend, is there?”

Suddenly there are lips on her own, that very much do not belong to her beautiful ginger girlfriend. Frozen for a few moments, she pushes hard against the chest she’s pressed against, recoiling from the feeling of a stranger’s sweat against her skin.

”Easy, tiger.”

He grins at her like something fun and sexy had just happened.

”You know what? Fuck you.”

”Protest all you like, I could feel you were into it.”

”That was my dick, Dick.”

She stomps off, scanning the room for Chloe, so she can get out of this shitshow and take her home.

But she can’t find her. Eventually, one of the guards ask her if she’s looking for the cute redhead and she tries not to scowl at him for obviously checking out her girlfriend when she says yes, since that’s not the point and she’s working on her jealousy issues.

Apparently, Chloe left the party without Beca, which is so out of character for her and for them, being the butt of so many lesbian jokes about being symbiotic since they already lived together when they fell in love and kept on doing it after college, that Beca’s immediately worried.

***

When she gets back, she finds Chloe out on the balcony, staring unseeingly at the beautiful view.

"Hey, babe. Why did you leave without me?"

"I saw you kiss him, Beca."

She can hear Chloe's crying before she turns her head.

"That's not what happened. Like, at all."

”It's fine. No one expects you to hold on to someone you met experimenting in college. Richard Smalls has a thing for you, I can’t compete with that. You hung out with Halsey last week. I’m not even in the music business, I’m just some girl you used to be in an a cappella group with. Everyone’s wondering what you’re doing with me. I should bow out gracefully, no hard feelings.”

Beca felt a wave of panic. The chance of losing Chloe hadn't even occurred to her. Losing her not to someone more attractive or interesting than Beca, but to boredom or neglect, was unbearable.

”Hey, remember that time when I totally abandoned you for staying on at Barden, being a super senior and intentionally failing Russian lit three times? When you were just totally confused about what you wanted to do with your life?”

”No? What are you talking about?”

”Exactly. I like you. I like almost every single thing about you and that doesn’t normally happen to me. If you’re a vet or a popstar doesn’t really factor into it, since I already know you.”

Beca sat down next to her and pulled her close.

”You’re the person I fell in love with when I was done experimenting, not the other way around. Richard Smalls doesn’t want me, I was probably the only girl at that party he hadn’t already slept with. He called me real.”

”Gross. He knows that’s not a compliment, right?”

”Apparently not. He’s a bit of a dick.”

”Do you know what’s funny?”

Chloe sniffled and shook her head.

”You’re out of my league, not the other way around. People don’t wonder why I’m with you when they see us, they wonder why you’re with me. I wake up every morning and wonder how I got so lucky. There’s no competition, Chlo.”

Chloe’s crying again, but Beca can see she’s turned it around and that they’re tears of relief, not sadness. She scoots closer and puts her head on her shoulder.

”I’m sorry…I’ve been feeling a little left out lately, I guess. Are we good?”

As far as Beca was concerned, she and Chloe were forever. She was at least going to fight tooth and nail for that to happen. Chloe was like music to her: a constant in her life, something she couldn't imagine living without. She’d been getting more offers of a romantic and sexual nature since she achieved some sort of fame, but she hadn’t seen it as a chore to stay faithful. But maybe there was one person she’d neglected to share that with: Chloe.

Beca frowned and looked at her. She had another moment of clarity, like when she knew she had to have the ring with the blue diamond.

"Wait here, I’ll be right back?”

Beca looks at herself in the mirror. The velvet box trembles a little in her nervous hand. She’d imagined this moment in some perfect, candle lit setting, with champagne and her wearing something more polished than this, or at one of their favorite places. And probably years from now.

She feels like an idiot when she gets down on one knee. She’s not a conventional person, but Chloe is fonder of rituals and mores than she is and she’s going to do this right, damn it. Chloe doesn’t get the significance of her prostrate position on the ground.

”Come sit with me?”

She pulls gently on Beca’s hand.

”Chloe, I…”

She clears her throat.

”I’ve loved you for so long that I don’t remember what it’s like not to. You’re my favorite song.”

Chloe slaps her hands over her mouth and looks at her with wild eyes as she pulls the velvet box out from behind her back and snaps the lid open to reveal the blue diamond.

”Marry me?”

Chloe’s crying again, but these tears are totally different. She nods.

”Yes?”

”Yes. Of course.”

”Beca…?”

”Yes, sweetie?”

”Is this why you never bought that expensive mixing table you were going to get?”

”Yeah.”

Chloe's eyes are huge when she looks down at Beca sliding the ring in place. Beca feels the cool metal against her cheek as Chloe cups it.

”It’s so beautiful, Beca.”

Beca runs a finger over the ring as she kisses her. She feels her body roar back to life and remind her of how long it's was since she touched her properly: they've been exhausted lately. 

”Since we’re to be married, I’m sure you’ll agree that I have the right to make some demands?”

”Absolutely.”

”Don't.” Chloe starts unbuttoning her shirt. ”Leave me." She kisses her neck. "Hanging.” She continues down to the swell of Beca's breast. ”for this long, ever again” She pushes her shirt off her shoulders. "I need you to pay attention to me."

”I promise. Let me make it up to you?”

”You already did.”

***

After sex, Beca keeps going over the proposal in her head. She frowns.

”I’m sorry it wasn’t the perfect moment, like I planned it. I was thinking champagne and your favourite restaurant, or maybe romantic dinner at home. I hope you won’t remember it as the night when you were upset because I hurt you.”

Chloe shook her head, with emphasis.

”No, it was perfect. This was the perfect moment.”

She held her hand up, with the ring glistening in the soft night light.

”This wasn’t some bribe to make a problem go away. This shows you’ve been thinking about us and where you want this to go. Choosing tonight shows that you can hear when I’m in genuine distress and in need of reassurance. And this ring? Totally my taste and not at all yours, which means that you see me and not just project what you think I should be onto our relationship. That you sacrificed something that would make you really happy for something that would make me really happy, like the most beautiful ring in the world chosen with care and consideration, shows that I’ve made a great choice in life partner.”

Beca just stared at her.

”Wow. I’m a way better girlfriend than I thought I was.”

”You’re exactly as good a girlfriend as I thought you were.”

”Whoa…”

”What’s the matter, baby?”

”I just said ’my future wife’ in my head for the first time. So weird.”

”Good weird?”

”The best kind of weird.”

They kiss and Chloe’s eyes widen as she breaks it.

”Oh, you’re right. That was a head rush.”

She shapes her mouth around it out loud.

”Beca Mitchell, my wife.”

Chloe’s beautiful blue eyes sparkle, and they laugh as they look at each other.

”What do we do about the name?”

Potential name changes hadn’t even occurred to her.

”You wanna...keep our own?”

Chloe shakes her head.

”I want us to sound like we belong together.”

”Beca Beale sounds like a cartoon character.”

”Yeah… Kind of. I guess I’ll have to be Chloe Mitchell.”

”You’d… Do that for me?”

”I’ll do anything for you.”

Beca smiles.

”Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

”You’ve certainly shown me.”

Chloe touches the ring again.

”I wish I could go back in time and show this to Barden Chloe, nursing her unrequited crush.”

”It was never unrequited, babe. It just took me a long time to catch on.”

***

The next morning, she gives Chloe another little box. She’d forgotten about the matching gold chain in the emotional turmoil of yesterday.

”I got this to go with it, since I’m assuming you can’t or might not want to wear it while you stick your hand up some cow.”

”Aww. How did you manage to make that sound gross and really romantic at the same time? You’ve thought of everything. Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?”

”Well, I’m your fiancé and I’ve killed your girlfriend and replaced her with someone who’s better at showing her future wife appreciation.”

She took Chloe’s hands.

”Seriously, though. I missed you so much.”

”You’re going to wear a ring too, just so you know. If my ring is on your finger, maybe the Richard Smalls of this world will think twice before sticking their tongues down your throat.”

”Somehow, I doubt that. He asked if you would join us.”

”Wow, really? A: he would be the one joining us, not the other way around and B: eww, he’s not my type at all and C:”

”...the only threesome you’ll ever do is you, me and Anna Silk. I know baby.”

Beca hasn’t seen her this happy in ages. She feels terrible that she made Chloe doubt herself, but she loves the blinding smile she throws her way and how excited she is about the engagement. This is the old Chloe, the one she loves so much her chest hurts when she looks at her.

”And of course I’ll wear a ring.”

She picked up the phone to tell Khalid that she needed the day off to spend with her fiancé and he could fuck off if that wasn't acceptable. Chloe stole the phone from her before she had a chance to open her mouth.

"Yeah, hi, Chloe here. Beca has terrible food poisoning, she's just throwing up everywhere. I think it's probably best that I stay and take care of her today, she shouldn't leave the room. Hopefully she'll feel better tomorrow."

Chloe had found out from an entourage member that Khalid wasn't a huge fan of germs. She smiled wickedly at Beca. Beca could hear his assistant's horrified assurances that Beca should absolutely stay away for the day and tomorrow too, if needed.

"Baby, I absolutely love that you want to make time for me. But I'm not having you fired from touring with DJ Khalid. We need to keep him happy. "

"Should I be worried that my future wife is such a good liar?"

"Since you have "food poisoning", we'll probably have to stay in bed today and order room service so you can recover."

"Yeah. I should totally stay in bed, I'm really, really sick, so..."

Beca unties the belt of the green silk robe.

***

They run into Richard Smalls before the show, Khalid's managed to get a lot of heavy hitters to show up.

"Hi there, tiger."

"Hey, Dick."

"People don't really call me Dick, I prefer Richard."

"I wasn't referring to your name."

Chloe clears her voice pointedly.

"Yeah, hi. I'm Chloe, Beca's fiancé."

He grinned.

"Fiancé, huh? Last time it was 'girlfriend'. You're not doing a great job with the whole fake relationship thing."

"Beca proposed last night, so if you could go ahead and not stick your tongue down my future wife's throat again, that would be aws."

Beca lifted Chloe's hand and kissed her knuckles, so that the blue diamond sparkled in the sun.

***

She hadn't been looking forward to getting up on stage again. But as soon as she does, everything clicks into place and she gets into her "Bella headspace" where she's focused on the next line or the next piece of choreography and nothing else matters. Chloe's right behind her and their voices blend like they always do and Beca's so relieved she's there. She sings Flashlight with her and slips her hand into hers behind their backs. She can feel the cool surface of the ring and almost loses her way when she thinks of how this gorgeous and talented woman has agreed to marry her. Suddenly, Beca can't wait to be on tour with her. When she looks at her new fiancé over her shoulder, she knows the excitement on her face so well: Chloe's right there with her.

***

Amy was now living in a huge apartment with some questionable flamingo decor elements. Beca found that she kind of missed her, even if she could do without her butt confidence. But it was nice to have the place to themselves. They should probably try to find something bigger, but Beca found she was strangely fond of their miniscule apartment. It had so many memories.

The day after they return from the tour. Beca finds a black velvet box on the table. The ring inside was a stark simple band, shiny grey. Inside it there was a short inscription. Beca knew the moment she saw the little _we are…_ and smiled.

”Titanium?”

”Hmm. Thought it would be more your thing than diamonds.”

”You know me so well.”

They kissed softly, before Chloe slid it on her finger. Their rings looked completely different next to each other. But just like them, it made an odd kind of sense.

"Do you want to elope and get married, right now?"

"Dude… The Bellas would KILL us."

Chloe suddenly looked terrified.

"You have a point… I don't want to explain to Aubrey why I didn't invite her to my wedding."

"Emily might cry."

"We're her aca-mothers, we can't make her cry."

Beca sighed.

"I know."

"But soon?"

"Yeah… Soon. As soon as we can pull it off."

Beca frowns.

”I don't have to wear a white dress, do I?”

Chloe looked shocked.

”You went down on one knee to ask me and I’m taking your name, so like it or not, this is a traditional wedding, Beca Mitchell. Since I only intend to marry once, I think that calls for a traditional white dress, that my new wife will have to help me out of, before she makes me scream her name on our wedding night so loudly that we may disturb any wedding guests that sleep near the honeymoon suite.”

”I really like the sound of that.”

”I thought you would.”

”You look great in white.”

”True, I do.”

”White isn’t my color, maybe I could wear black?”

”No way. I really like hot pink, but that doesn’t mean my wedding dress will be that color. Face it: you're wearing white.”

"Chlo?"

"Mhmm?"

"How about getting married at Pride? It's kind of our anniversary?"

"That's actually a great idea, Bec."

A few minutes later, a WhatsApp message flashes on Chloe's screen.

SERIOUSLY, CHLOE!? THAT'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO PLAN A WEDDING.

"Let me guess? Aubrey?"

"Yeah. I wanted to see if she could make it. I have to make her my bridesmaid."

***

They told Amy, who offered to sing something from the Fat Amy Winehouse repertoire at the reception.

"I was going to ask you to be my bridesmaid."

"Duh, of course. I'm your best friend."

Amy turns to Chloe.

"I'll try not to dress too sexy and upstage Beca."

"Thanks Amy."

Beca rolls her eyes.

"Note how she only worried about me being upstaged, not you?"

She wrapped her arms around Chloe.

"But she's not wrong, I have a really hot girlf...fiancé."

"Nice save, Bec."

***

Emily cries at the wedding, as expected, and Benji keeps glancing at her like he can't decide if he should propose too.  
Aubrey cries as well, but they pretend not to notice, since that would make her mutter something about her father and go into soldier mode for the rest of the evening.  
Amy's Fat Amy Winehouse set is somewhere between a striptease and weird performance art. Jesse comes with his new girlfriend and Beca loves  that he's able to be happy for her.  
The Stepmonster gets them a thoughtful gift that Beca doesn't hate and she grouches to Chloe about how she might have to not hate her now.  
Beca's father keeps getting Jessica and Ashley confused and still doesn't know who's who at the end of the evening.  
Flo tries to teach some of the new Bellas to do somersaults, which ends up as one sprained ankle and someone getting a whole bowl of punch emptied over them.  
Lily makes a long speech and everyone's still in shock that you can actually hear what she's saying these days.  
Cynthia-Roses wife Neisha is a magician with a needle and thread and averts a disaster before the ceremony, when Beca treads on the hem of her white dress and rips it. You really can't tell in any of the photos. She and Chloe spent hours on Skype talking wedding stuff before it happened, so she's sort of been their unofficial wedding planner.  
Seeing Stacie completely sober at a party is weird, but she's brought Bella with her and everyone's fighting over who gets to hold her. She disappears with one of Chloe's relatives for half an hour and judging by the dazed look on his face, he got more than a Pilates demonstration. Beca totally gets it: she has a thing for beautiful, ginger Beales too.  
Cynthia-Rose does a slow, soulful version of Titanium at the reception in the garden of the Bella house and even Beca cries and Chloe has to wipe runny mascara off her cheeks, since she claimed she wouldn't need water proof make-up, since unlike Chloe, she doesn't cry easily.

But Chloe's beautiful and radiant and Beca only has eyes for her, and hardly remembers the chaos around them. Chloe will tease her mercilessly later for not remembering half of what happened at their wedding. She stops when she realizes that Beca remembers everything about _her_ and everything they said to each other. Every time Chloe took her hand or kissed her. And EVERYTHING about their wedding night.

And about the day after, when they were hungover and spent the day watching Netflix in their sweatpants, ordering pizza and calling each other "Mrs. Mitchell" over and over again and couldn't stop giggling about it.

***

They were asked to come back to Pride and Beca would have said no, it was a lot of rehearsal time right after all the wedding planning. But then there was the look on her wife's face and how happy it made her to perform with the Bellas again. So they did, and she'd forgotten how much she loved being up on stage with the Bellas, just for the joy of it. She's having doubts about being a professional performer and is seriously considering going back to being a producer and now she remembers why: being on stage just for the joy of it, not because there's a contract telling you have to.

She and Chloe do their love duet again, and they’re so in sync this time, they hardly had to rehearse. Both remember learning these steps so well, voices blending effortlessly as they stepped into each other's arms.

A lot of people in the audience knows who she is now, through DJ Khalid's social media and YouTube clips of her opening for him.

When Beca thanks the audience for coming to see them again, she takes Chloe's hand and pulls her to the front of the stage

”Chloe and I actually had our first kiss up on this stage. Isn't that crazy? Oh, and I’d like to introduce you to Mrs. Mitchell. We got married last week.”

The audience whoops and Beca kisses her new wife on stage in front of thousands of people. After all, she’s a sucker for a romantic gesture, apparently.


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Grammys, The Mitchells and what happened then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My train got stuck in the middle of nowhere for hours, so decided to spend some time with the Mitchells. 
> 
> Pure fluff, don't read if you're trying to cut down on sugar, sorry. I love babies, what can I say. Yeah I know, lesbian stereotype... :)
> 
> This is for Becawww, who requested Bechloe babies. Ask and ye shall receive.

Epilogue

Her tiny wife’s slim arms didn’t even reach all the way around her anymore. It didn’t stop Beca from trying. Chloe smiled when she felt her give up and press her palm against the place where their baby had kicked a few moments ago, a little heel clearly visible. If Chloe had let her, she would have spent hours like this, waiting for the baby to move.

”Do you still have those nudes I sent you when you were on tour?”

”Yeah, but just on a usb stick in case some asshole steals my phone. Do you want me to delete them? No one’s seen them, I promise.”

”God no, I want you to hold on to them so you have some way of remembering the way I looked before becoming a beached whale and likely a dishevelled parent with stretch marks and baby vomit on my sweatpants.”

”You still look insanely good.”

”You’re my wife, it’s your job to say that.”

”Yeah. But also true. You know I mean it.”

She did. Beca’s physical interest in her hadn’t diminished during pregnancy, which was appreciated during her second trimester, when she’d been one of those women who are horny constantly and Beca had to work pretty hard to keep her satisfied.

”I kind of have a thing for you in sweatpants.”

”True. You do, weirdly.”

Beca liked her in anything that allowed for roaming hands and quick removal of clothes when the situation needed it.

”Still, I can’t believe I’m going down the Grammys red carpet wearing a tent.”

The dress was actually great, she felt surprisingly attractive in it, considering how huge she got in the last few weeks. Her back was killing her and she walked like a duck, in her own opinion, even though Beca vehemently denied it. But the dress was great, even if she had to wear flats with it. For once, Beca got to be taller than her.

”You could literally wear a tent and still look hot. Do you want some juice before we leave?”

Beca asked the question like seeing to Chloe’s juice needs was the most important point of order of the day, not all the other stuff that was going on.

Chloe all-consuming obsession with pineapple juice during the pregnancy had once led to Beca driving around town in her pyjamas at 3 am to look for it. Chloe had a total breakdown when she came back after an hour and a half, triumphantly carrying her bounty. Beca freaked out, thinking she’d done something wrong and upset her before she could make out the ”I love you so much” among the heaving sobs. After that night, she kept the fridge meticulously well stocked.

”I’m good, I’ll need to pee all the time as it is and it'll be super annoying, so don’t want to make it worse.”

She sighed.

”Wish I could drink champagne and celebrate with you tonight.”

”Me too. But hey! We’re having a BABY. How awesome is that?”

”True. That's pretty awesome.”

Chloe put her hand over Beca’s on her swelling stomach and squeezed it.

”You’re the best, you know that? I’m so lucky to have you.”

Beca had been the perfect partner during this messy and complicated endeavour and patiently put up with all Chloe’s whims, cravings and hormonal crying fits. After that rough patch during Beca’s tour with Khaled, they’d both learned a lot. Beca had stayed true to her promise to show her wife more appreciation, or at least be better at verbalising it. Chloe didn’t mind that Beca could get lost in her own world for hours, as long as she came up for air and Chloe-time occasionally. Her fierce dedication and love of music were a big part of the reason Chloe had fallen head over heels for that snarky little sophomore with too much eyeliner and a scrapyard of metal in her ears. She saw the fire in those dark blue eyes and was seduced by it. Years later, there was still nobody who could make her feel beautiful and special like Beca. Without Beca, Chloe was pretty sure the world would have knocked some of that famous confidence out of her by now.

”Chlo?”

”Mmhmm?”

”The way you look is just a small part of why I fell in love with you, you know that, right? I mean, you’re ridiculously hot, but that’s not why. I love that you’re a little bit insane and how you go all in with everything you do. I love how any Tuesday can be exciting with you and how kind and loving you are. And how you changed me completely and I had no idea until I realised it made me 100 times better.”

Chloe sniffles. 

”And you still have to love me when I get fat and tired and grumpy from sleep deprivation.”

”That will go both ways. I see a lot of pizza deliveries and Netflix binging in our future.”

"Actually, that sounds pretty great. I can't wait to meet this kid, but I'm so tired…"

"I know, sweetie..."

Chlo took a deep breath.

"OK, let's go win you a Grammy."

"There's no guarantee I'll win, I have some fierce competition."

"No, you don’t. The other tracks suck and you and I both know it."

Beca grinned at her. Chloe had always been her biggest supporter. Secretly, she thought her remix was pretty great too.

They snap a selfie and send to the Bellas before leaving. There was no way Beca could get them all into the award ceremony itself, but she had called in a favour with her label and got them into one of the hottest after parties in town and some of them were going to watch the actual awards at a bar close by. It was rumoured that both Gaga and Janelle Monae would show up at the party. Beca joked that maybe she shouldn't let Chloe go, since she had a huge thing for Janelle Monae and might leave Beca and elope with her.

***

Like she'd told Beca that first time in the shower, Chloe was a pretty confident person. But she was really glad she had Beca by her side as the cameras started flashing. They were by no means the most famous people there, even if Beca had been featured in a few music magazines and even in Variety's series on the top 100 female music producers. That she was married to a woman had raised some attention too and they had been featured in Beatz Magazine's lbtqia music personalities issue and several times on Autostraddle.

Chloe was used to the limelight after being world champion of a capella with the Bellas, but being the wife of a high profile music producer was different. Right now, it was a lot for a heavily pregnant vet who desperately needed to pee when the photographers started to yell their names and questions for Beca. When someone bumped into Chloe from behind, Beca turned around and scowled.

"Hey! Careful, baby on board!"

It was all Chloe could do not to laugh out loud when she realised Beca had snapped at 50 Cent.

”You OK, sweetie?”

Beca’s overprotectiveness could easily have been annoying, but all that ”hands off my pregnant woman” bravado just looked adorable on her tiny wife and it made her heart melt. Beca would make such a great parent.

”Babe, look, that’s T-Bone Burnett!”

Chloe smiled when she saw Beca’s obvious fangirling over a more seasoned producer. Beca wasn’t easily impressed — except for when someone could make a really great song. Her wife’s total oblivion about her own relative fame after producing the new Ana Black and A$AP Dez collaboration was so pure, she couldn’t help but love her even more for it.

***  
Of course, it happens just when Beca's category comes up. It's like a pop and then a release of a pressure she hadn't realised she was feeling. A light, warm liquid is running down her inner thigh. She freezes as Beca’s name is mentioned as a nominee and her wife squeezes her hand. When her name is called again, Beca turns and kisses her cheek before getting up to get her award.

”Wow… I can’t believe I won…”

She looks surprised when she sees that Chloe is still in her seat and not on her feet, hugging her.

”I’m super happy for you, but I hope you make a short speech. My water just broke.”

”Yeah… Long speeches are the worst. Wait, WHAT!!?”

Beca gesticulates wildly.

”Chloe, you’re always late for everything, HOW are you suddenly early?”

”It’s not like I did it on purpose! Can we stop arguing and go, before we have a baby on national television and have to name her Grammy, please? Go get your prize.”

”Oh god, yes of course, I’m sorry, I love you!”

Beca virtually runs up on stage and freezes for a moment with the Grammy in her hands, staring at the audience with huge eyes.

"Thanks! Sorry, gotta go have a baby."

That's it. That's Beca's entire speech. Chloe can't help laugh, even though she should be freaking out, sitting there in a puddle of amniotic fluid. At least Beca had managed to swing her an aisle seat. She assumed no one had wanted some huge pregnant woman to make everyone stand up when she needed to go the the bathroom every fifteen seconds.

A breathless Beca was by her side again, a maniacal smile on her face. Chloe realises she must have run back from the green room and skipped the post win photo shoot.

"Let's do this!"

Chloe kisses her hand.

"Told you you would win."

"Yeah yeah. Let's have a baby!"

"Yeah, let's have a baby."

***

Never in her life had she imaged that she would arrive at the maternity ward in a stretched limo. Not even when Beca achieved some sort of fame. Still, she did. Beca didn't want to wait, so she texted Ana to tell her that she was borrowing her limo for an hour, her category wasn't up for ages anyway. Since Ana was a thoroughly decent person despite her fame, Beca got several rows of hysterical looking emojis back, apparently indicating that this was OK. Beca spoke fluent Ana, unlike Chloe, who still needed a translator, despite getting really fond of Beca's young protege who reminded them in no small way of Emily.

The nurses stared when she laboriously unloaded herself from the limo in a jawdropping emerald sequin red carpet dress. When Beca followed in a tiny black number showing way more than she normally would, their eyebrows tried to reach their hairlines and Chloe could tell from the looks and murmurs that they were trying to find out if they were famous and if so, who they were. The dress was Chloe's fault. She'd told Beca when she tried it on that she'd never looked so hot in anything and that she needed the memory of her in that dress for when they were eating pizza in front of Netflix wearing sweatpants, too tired to have sex, waiting for a crying baby to wake up. It was so right for the Grammys and so wrong for a delivery room.

"Babe?"

"Mhmm?"

"Maybe we should ask Aubrey to go to our place to get my hospital bag? I'd kill for something less fabulous to wear right now."

"Yeah… How can something that feels so right on one red carpet feel so wrong on another one?"

Beca looked down on threadbare synthetic waterproof fabric under their feet outside the hospital entrance as Chloe texted Aubrey.

Beca realized she desperately needed to go to the bathroom and Chloe convinced her she'd be fine on her own for a minute, while they waited for the nurse to take her to the delivery room.

When she came back, she realised that there's someone in the waiting room dressed even more inappropriately for childbirth than the two of them. A man was cradling a helmet, in full-on football gear. He also seemed to be slightly drunk.

"I was actually celebrating a pretty important victory with my teammates, almost didn't make it. It's a pretty big deal, so the boys were pretty disappointed that I had to go. Women have been doing this for centuries, so not even sure why guys have to be there, you seem to do fine on your own."

”Beca was actually at the Grammy awards and fortunately, her category was right before my water broke. But shame she missed that afterparty with Gaga and Janelle Monae. Guess that's just what you do for love.”

”Er… Wow, OK. So your girlfriend…”

”Wife, actually.”

”Right, you guys can do that these days.”

”Mmhmm.”

Wuh-uh. Beca recognised Chloe’s annoyed voice.

”She was like… nominated for a Grammy?”

”No.”

”Uh, I thought you said…”

”She won, so not just nominated. Grammy winner, there’s a diff.”

”And she skipped an after party with like super famous people?”

”Yup. Like I said: Lady Gaga.”

Beca smiled at the pride in Chloe’s voice. It hadn’t even occurred to her to make another choice than to be here. But she was happy that she could win another competition for her wife. Chloe did love winning.

”Hey, sweetie.”

”Hi babe.”

”You think we should focus on having a baby and not winning this competition you apparently found in the waiting area of a maternity ward?”

”I’m just proud you’re a way better husband and father than that guy.”

"Technically I'm neither and he didn't set the bar very high. But I'm glad I pass the dumbass test."

A nurse showed up with a smile waaay too perky to match Beca’s internal sense of panic at the thought that this was it: her wife was now expected to push something roughly the size of a watermelon out of what was some of Beca’s favourite parts of her body.

When the nurse grabbed the handles of the wheelchair her still surprisingly mobile wife had been forced into as soon as the entered the hospital, Chloe turned and looked at her with wild eyes.

”Bec?”

Beca just managed to keep a pain related whimper in when she grabbed her arm. Hard.

”You know how much I love Aubrey, right?”

”Eh...Yeah?”

”Like, I LOVE Aubrey. I just really love her.”

Beca looked at her with raised eyebrows. As far as she knew, Chloe hadn’t been put on any kind of drugs yet.

”I know, baby…?”

”But Bec… Childbirth makes her nervous and I CANNOT have her projectile vomiting all over my delivery room, OK?”

In the back of her mind, Beca was a little bit afraid Chloe would break her wrist with her death grip. But she had a very valid point.

”When her sister Blair had a baby, she got so nervous she threw up all over the waiting room. Bec?”

”Yes, sweetie?”

”If you let Aubrey throw up on me, I’ll sell your Grammy on ebay.”

”No, you won’t. You’ll make that ugly thing the centrepiece of our home and you know it.”

Beca kissed her cheek tenderly.

”But I hear you. No Aubrey in the delivery room, cross my heart and hope to die.”

”Beca?”

”Mmhmm.”

”We’re having a BABY. Like, right now. Isn’t that aws?”

”Oh my god, I’m so STOKED. Wait. I still don’t say that. Or maybe I do, whatever. I’m STOKED we’re having a baby.”

They smiled at each other until Chloe’s contraction hit and she dug her nails into Beca’s slim wrist again.

The nurse counted the length of it and frowned. 

”Right. Let’s get you settled.”

It escalated pretty quickly from there. There were more nurses and Chloe was suddenly on a hospital bed being told she was almost fully dilated, which was fast, but not abnormally so.

”Next time I stick my arm up a cow, I’ll be more sensible to her emotional needs”, Chloe ground out as the next contraction hit.

She knew she was squeezing Beca’s hand too hard, but the other option was screaming like a banshee and her overprotective wife would worry about her post nodes vocal cords if she did that. So she figured it was easier to apologise to Beca for almost breaking her hand when this was all over. The pain was easily the most intense thing she’d ever felt. But weirdly, it kind of made her feel strong too. Focused. That didn’t mean she didn’t use every curse word in the book and yelled at Beca for getting her pregnant, even if it was indirectly.

And then, just when she thought she was literally going to break, there was this tiny mewling noise and the tiniest human she’d ever seen being put on her chest, skin to sticky, messy skin and she couldn’t believe she had made a person, all with her own body.

At first, she thinks their daughter is crying, but then she looks at her wife, staring at their daughter with a look of total awe on her face.

”Bec… You’re crying on the baby.”

When she says it, she realizes she’s crying too.

”Oh god, I’m sorry. But...Look at her? She’s so beautiful…”

”I know.”

Chloe is full-on bawling now, all the pain and tension fading away and Beca is right there with her as she touches the tiny, barely noticeable fluff of strawberry blond hair on their daughter’s head.

***

A few hours later, the baby is sleeping on her exhausted mother’s chest. Beca goes into the waiting room, making one of the nurses stay with them on pain of death.

The Bellas are all there, except for Lily, who’s doing some sort of beatbox competition in Tokyo, but Ashley gets her on Skype. Cynthia Rose is in full-on pilot gear, since she came straight from work.

Beca tears up again. The Bellas left the Vanity Fair after party to come here.

”Aubrey? Do you feel sick in any way? Even a little?”

Aubrey shakes her head emphatically.

”If I show you this?”

Aubrey slaps her hand over her mouth and her eyes are huge as she looks at the first pic of their daughter, with some seriously unflattering cameos of her mothers. She looks up and stares at Beca.

”She’s beautiful. She looks just like…”

”I know right? Look at the nose, it’s totally hers. And the eyes.”

Beca looks at the Bellas.

”Does anyone feel any inclination to vomit, like at all?”

Everyone shakes their heads in unison. The Bellas are nothing but well synced by now.

***

”Chlo?”

Her wife stirs and smiles sleepily at the Bellas.

Beca stretches her arms out and carefully takes their daughter.

”Guys… Meet Sia Aubrey Mitchell.”

Aubrey’s crying now. She looks at Chloe.

”Are you serious, Chlo?”

”Actually, it was Beca’s idea.”

Beca smirks at Aubrey.

”Well… All of this is kind of your fault.”

She looks at the other Bellas.

”Long story, guys.”

Amy clears her throat.

”Not gonna lie, thought you were going to say Amy there. I’m your best friend, but you know. No hard feelings.”

”Next one, Ames. It’s Beca’s turn, so we can talk names when that time comes.”

Beca whips her head around and stares at her wife.

”What!?”

Chloe smiles and winks.


End file.
